Deadly Secrets
by PoptartsSecret
Summary: After Lightning's mother is murdered she is sent to live with her Uncle Cloud, his boyfriend Leon, and their sons Roxas and Sora. She not only has to deal with the differences between them and her but also that her Mother's killer is on the loose. She needs to know why and if she's their next target. Luxord/Lightning/Zack Leon/Cloud Sora/Riku Axel/Roxas. May Contain Yaoi or Slash.
1. A Tornado of Emotions

_**Disclaimer: I do not own this, all rights go to their respective parties.**_

_**Summary: Claire Lightning Strife is set to live with her uncle Cloud after her mother is murdered. She is forced to pack up her minimum belongings and move from Oblivion District to the richest and most luxurious part of Twilight Town, Radiant garden. Where she realizes how different her mother and Cloud's lives truly are. Then there is also the rising concern of Larxene's killer. Who is he? Why did he kill Larxene? These are all Question's she asks herself. But most importantly. Will she be next? **_

_**Pairings: Luxord/Lightning/Zack, Cloud/Leon. Axel/Roxas, and Sora/Riku.**_

_**A/N: This story will contain drug usage and other graphic content such as self harm. It will be in future chapters just a warning.**_

Everything seemed to shift together. The line between reality and the past fusing together, enveloping me in a cold and tight cage of Denial and Numbness. My memories of the past three days dancing around each other almost as if they had been captured in my whirlwind of emotions, blurring together. The more important memories just peeking up out of tornado before being sucked back in. It was just images, constantly flashing each time I closed my eyes or blinked, like a crazy slideshow that refused to stop.

The police department, the dingy and small studio apartment, Luxord, Vexen, My Mothe-Larxene. Everything just flashed but when I tried to reach for them, my fingers itching to grasp one of them they would retaliate and throw me into the moment everything changed. The reason my mind and body was curling into itself. Defending itself the only way it could, by closing itself off. Not showing the massive destruction and disaster happening inside of the expressionless and emotionless shell that you called my body. The moment that Luxord came to the small and dingy apartment that Larxene and I shared.

The memory played almost like a scratchy disc, skipping the details, almost blurring them. It cleared as I opened the door of the apartment, and looked at Luxord. His blonde hair slicked back, his eyebrows and goatee neatly cut, and the dim flickering light making his eyebrow and ear piercings glisten. His Blue orbs watching me intently with a strange emotion in his eyes. His mouth moving, forming words, words that I already knew but that my mind would not allow me to hear again, muting it. My vision blurred and all I could see was a shoulder, curved and muscular, warm and safe. Strong arms wrapped around my broken frame as he moved me around the apartment tossing clothing into a bag that he had already semi-filled with clothing of his own that he was offering to me.

The memory blackened and the next memory that popped up was of my mothe- Larxene's pale face lying on the autopsy table. A white sheet, almost matching her pale skin which at some point had color, covering the top of her chest to her feet. Her shoulders bare and her hands placed palm up on the autopsy counter. The black and blue bruises that covered the inner part of her elbow no longer hiding her addiction that I had always known about. Her mouth was no longer pink but a sickly purple, her cheeks seeming to hollow even more even though she was already so thin, and her hair, the blonde slicked back hair with the two uncontrollable strands on either side was limp. But what continued to draw my attention was the bullet sized hole right between her thin eyebrows. The entrance of the bullet that had taken away her life and had left me an orphan.

Once again my vision blurs and the same shoulder appears again, this time a deep voice murmuring something in my ear. The voice comforts me and I find myself trying to reach out, to pry and figure out the words that it is saying. But just as I'm about to hear the sentence the meaningless words of comfort, gently prying the voice but only being able to raise it to a gently whisper, A higher voice another male's but not Luxord's says, "Claire?", which shoots me back to reality. My eyes removing themselves from the blue folder in my hands and looking up to the rearview mirror of the small White Prius.

Dark Black eyes are looking back at me, concern clear in them, and I can feel a wave of anger go through me. "How are you holding up back there?" Says the man who has thick black hair with a disappearing hairline, a long and curved nose, and two almost comically large front teeth. What was his name? I scan through my mind but give up as I see his eyes are still awaiting a response.

"Fine." I whisper and am surprised at the strength and hostility in my voice, the once described angelic voice, blunt and cold. The man, who I finally remember is named Mr. Kingsley, but who asked me to call him Goofy, flinches at the tone looking back at the road. I manage to catch surprise in his eyes but I look away the minute he looks back at the road. My aqua eyes staring out at the expansive amount of trees that decorate Highway 22, the busiest highway in all of Twilight Town which some called Purgatory Highway.

It was the only Highway that took you from The Oblivion District which was filled with Crime, Prostitution, and Drug activity considered Hell in some people's eyes and led to Radiant Garden, the cleanest, richest, and most well-kept part of the town. Where all the stuck up, rich, trust fund babies and their snobbish parents lived. My mind retaliated once again at that negative thought and threw up another image; this one was of the Chief of Police Xaldin. Xaldin was seated at his desk scrolling through paperwork before stopping on the page he needed. His words were muted as well but he handed me the image and I looked down at it.

It was a picture of four males standing in front of a very nice, elegant, and large two building home. Two adults and two teens, all of them huddled together, even in the picture they oozed happiness. The male at the right was tall and very angelic looking with Spikey Blonde hair, Sea Blue eyes, and pale skin. A small smile graced his lips and his arm was wrapped around one of the teens. That teen was a spitting image of him Blonde hair, blue eyes, and the same pale skin as the older man. He has a hand up as if in a middle of an awkward wave and his lips are formed into a matching awkward smile.

To the right, next to the Blonde male, with an arm securely wrapped around his waist is a tall and Brunette man with serious dark blue eyes, short and sleek brown hair, and a strong and masculine face with a scar running across his face. The scar which too many people can make them feel uneasy just adds character to the man and adds another ounce of masculinity. His other hand is lying firmly on the shoulder of the other teen. This boy has Spikey hair as well but it's a light shade of brown and light blue eyes that match the blonde haired boy's eyes. His skin is a tone darker than the awkward teen but he wears a large smile on his face, giving off joy and energy in spades.

I look back up at Chief Xaldin and can just make out some words, reading his lips. "Cloud…. Larxene…..Brother…..Uncle…..Family…..Moving." It didn't really take a rocket scientist to decipher what it meant. I was moving in to live with Cloud Strife and his family. They're names flying around in my mind and assigning themselves to the right people. The Blonde male was my Uncle Cloud; the blonde teen was his son Roxas who was seventeen. The man next to him was his Boyfriend of 15 years, Squall Leonheart, or Leon and the boy was his son Sora Leonheart who was the same age as Roxas.

The perfect family and here I was, the train wreck. Cloud Strife's Disastrous Niece whose….. Parent had been murdered and he had willingly accepted to care for. After no one else in the whole Strife family wanted anything to do with the Daughter of Larxene Strife, the Black sheep. It was either he takes me in or I'd end up in a foster home since they couldn't exactly ask my Father. My Father, from what I had been told, had run off the minute he had found out… Larxene was pregnant. Ran off like a dog with his tail between his legs, not even bothering to come and look at me when I was born or not even bothering to buy a box of diapers.

He left and Larxene was forced to play the part of Mom and Dad, and though she tried there was only so much a drug addict can do to raise a child. She had her needs that sometimes overpowered my needs. She needed her drug to function it was no longer a want; it was something she needed every day like eating and sleeping. She needed that to get up in the morning; she needed it to get through the day.

My mind blocked away the memories that began to creep up, like black veins. Creeping up slowly and wrapping themselves around my brain and heart. The memories of what would occur when she would run out of her substance. The memories of the violent outbursts of my mother that grew more physical the longer it took Vexen to come and drop it off. I bit my lip and looked down at my Lap and back at the folder that Goofy had given me in order for me to 'Get to Know' my family and all my papers.

I opened the front and there was the image that Xaldin showed me, a rectangle lying on the rather small stack of papers. My eyes narrowed a bit as I scanned the image. A feeling of something like desperation filling my stomach like cold icicles, as I searched for similarities between my Uncle and I. Something that I could latch onto and make me fit in with this Perfect Little Family. The most obvious difference was my Hair. Mine was a light pinkish color which though many had thought was fake was actually really mine, probably belonging to my father.

My eyes were similar to theirs, an aqua blue with specks of green around the pupil. The same skin tone as Cloud a light pale crème as well as the same facial features, high cheekbones, almond shaped eyes with thick eyelashes, and pinkish lips. For a moment I realized how much Cloud looked like my Mom. My Mind screeched to a halt, and all the memories disappeared, disintegrating and leaving only one image. My mother's smiling face.

I could feel my heart beating fast and the need to run coursing through my veins. I shut my eyes as they began to burn; I forced myself to take deep breaths as I tried to calm myself. Don't Cry, I chanted over and over again, don't be weak I snapped at myself. Goofy cleared his throat in the front seat, getting ready to speak, and a wave of irritation came over me making me forget the image and the urge to cry.

"Your Uncle, Cloud is a good man," He began and I rolled my eyes looking out the window. "Instantly wanted you to go live with him. Though I must say his Boyfriend Leon, did I tell you he don't like being called Squall? Well He doesn't. Leon isn't a man of many words." He reached out and moved the mirror to get a better view of me. I glared at him and he let out a nervous chuckle gripping the steering wheel with his white gloved hands.

"I can see that is something he and you share." I didn't respond just grabbed a strand of my hair, the shoulder length strand falling gently back onto my shoulder. The black beanie that was on my head pressing it down and my bangs covering my right eye. I wore a large Black Hoody; one of Luxord's clothing items, a pair of dark blue jeans, and some Pure Black Converse. Underneath of the Hoody was a Plain White shirt, the tip of it visible in the curve of the Hoody that fit large as well, I had to tie it at the back with a rubber band. Everything fit me huge except my jeans and sneakers which belonged to me. I only had three pairs of shoes the black Converse, a pair of black and white vans, and white Nike's, and then the five different pair of jeans. The rest belonged to Luxord.

It all fit me big and looked baggy but what did you expect when the guy was six foot two and I barely made it to five foot seven? I was used to it, though. After all ever since I had met him Six years ago, when I was ten and he was sixteen, he had always given me either clothing he never wore or hadn't fit him. He would come visit me and just hand me a bag or a box of stuff and I would put it under my bed since I didn't have a dresser or closet. We didn't have to say anything I knew he was taking care of me and he knew I was grateful. He looked out for me, He understood me, and I would always be thankful.

"Leon's a police officer, While Cloud's a therapist. One of the best therapists in all of Twilight Town. Sora and Roxas are in their last year of High School they start a week from now on September 1st. A good pair of kids those two are a good family in general. This will be a good change for you. A fresh start away from all that crime and addiction over in Oblivion District. Away from all of that." Goofy said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

A ball rose in my throat of anger and sadness, of hate and Despair. I narrowed my eyes and glared at Goofy again through the rearview mirror. Taking great pleasure as he squirmed and cleared his throat either out of nervousness or awkwardness I didn't know, and neither did I care. I closed the blue folder and tucked it back into the duffel bag, closing the zipper of the bag and crossing my arms over my chest.

"Well here we are!" Goofy said stopping the car, his voice a bit to cheerful. I turned my head and looked at the large and elegant light brown two floor house, or as I would call it Mansion. The home was painted a light brown with Dark wood windows and a black tiled roof. The home had a dark wood porch, which was surrounded by a wood fence, with a swing and steps going up to the glass double doors. The large glass double doors were underneath a Dark wood arch with two Dark brown pillars supporting it up. A grey cement pathway led across the dark green and well-kept yard to the sidewalk and towards the white mailbox. Another path broke off of the main path and led to the driveway. A Black mustang was parked in the driveway right in front of the garage door, a basketball hoop attached to the top of the garage.

"Come on now Claire." He said cheerfully, hopping out of the car. I sighed and grabbed the duffel bag and opened the car door, closing it gently behind me. I followed Goofy to the porch steps a bounce in his step, which sent a spike of irritation through me. He climbed up the porch steps whistling and I followed slowly, taking in my new living area. We stopped in front of the glass double doors that had an intricate black swirl design; I stared at it a few seconds before looking back at Goofy. He was fixing his polo shirt and swiped his palms across his Pants; I looked at the evening sky filled with Reds, Oranges, and Yellows with hints of Blue and Pink.

Goofy knocked on the door quickly but in a rhythm before putting his arms behind his back and waiting. Exactly five seconds later the door open and Goofy said a friendly, "Hey there." Followed by a laugh. I turned but the older man's lanky form blocked my line of sight.

"Hello Goofy, How are you?" Asked a calm and cool voice that was wrapped with a smile.

"Very Well, Thank ya for asking Cloud! Just came to drop off the merchandise." He joked chuckling, while I narrowed my eyes and glared at the back of his head. Goofy nodded and stepped to the side finally allowing me to look at the man who had opened the door. My eyes looked into Cloud's and I took in his white button up shirt, Dark Jeans, and Black dress shoes. He looked causal and professional even with his spiked blonde hair.

His mouth opened slightly as a strange emotion which I could only place as shock crossed his face. "You have Larxene's eyes." He whispered almost as if he were afraid to break this quiet shock filled silence. Once he mentioned her a pang went through my chest and my eyes looked down at my sneakers my hands burying themselves into the pockets of my jeans. I fixed my beanie out of habit as Cloud turned his attention to Goofy, "Would you like to come in?" He said politely but I could feel his eyes flickering between the two of us. Trying desperately to be polite but probably wanting to find more features Larxene and I shared.

I looked at Goofy out of the corner of my eye and saw him shake his head and look at his watch. "I'm going to have to pass Cloud. I am a bit late and I don't want to get the Miss upset, you know?" Cloud nodded and smiled understandingly. Goofy smiled back and turned to see me, pulling out a small rectangular car from his pocket and extending it to me.

"If you need anything, anything at all. Don't be afraid to call." I quickly grabbed it and held it between my thin fingers. Nodding but mentally thinking, 'I'm not going to call you'. He smiled pleased but unaware of what I had said to myself and walked down the steps.

"Have a safe trip." Cloud called after the retreating Social Worker, Goofy turning and raising a hand in acknowledgment before climbing into his Prius. Cloud watched him for a bit before looking back at me and smiling softly at me. I watched as he took a step back and moved aside, allowing me entrance into the home, "Come in."

I walked in and the first thing I noticed was how large the house really was. The entrance's floor was made of white marble and had two dark rugs on the floor one right in front of the door and the other between the two sets of stairs leading up to the second floor. A large glass chandelier hung above the rug and the small table that was on top of it, and in between the two stairs. The stairs had Black stone steps with a matching black railing with a white cover on the top of it for people to hold onto it. The walls in the entrance were a Light caramel brown with Painting scattered around, most of them on the two walls of the stairs.

"This is the entrance of the home." Cloud said after I had pretty much freely gawked for a whole three minutes. "To your left," He pointed to a very elegant archway with Black trimming on the edges. "Is the dining room." Inside from my spot I could see a large Table that had at least twelve chairs. The table and chairs all made of Dark brown wood and underneath another glass chandelier, except this one was square and the lights were pointing up instead of down. She could also just make out a fireplace and piano. I have always wanted to learn the piano… I thought and looked at Cloud who once again smiled and pointed to his right. Where an identical Archway was, "Over there is the Library slash Study. You can occasionally find me or Leon in there but you are welcome to enter it whenever you like. There is also a bathroom in there that is to the left." He said warmly and I had only counted four large bookcases before he was moving straight, past the stairs and into another room.

This room had the walls painted a light grey color with a white ceiling. The floor was still white Marble but was covered mostly by a White rug with a Dark grey rim. A large, plush, and very comfortable looking Dark grey couch was placed a couple of steps in front of the entrance with four squared gray pillows on it. In front of it was a dark brown coffee table with glass in the middle. A Green plant was in the middle beside some magazines and the remote for the Huge Plasma TV on the wall, right above another Fireplace. Two smaller love seat couches were beside the coffee table but these were white. Two Cabinets were beside the Fireplace, one held Cd's, while the other had thick books. "This is the living room." Cloud said as he walked in smiling warmly at me. "To the left are the sliding doors that lead outside where there is a pool, Jacuzzi, and barbeque. To the right is where the kitchen is." He led me to the kitchen and I followed still looking around the living room but not finding anything out of place. How long did it take to clean here?

When we entered the kitchen looked very warm and homey. The floors were no longer marble but sleek brown wood. The walls were painted white but everything else was either dark brown or Black. The kitchen had an island right in the middle of the kitchen with three large lamps hanging from the ceiling, with four large chairs on the left side of the Island. The right side it had the sinks and the stove, fridge, oven, and a lot of counter space. Drawers lined the counters some probably holding Knives, forks, and spoons while other contained ingredients.

Suddenly the door to the right of us opened and a portly woman with light brown hair, crème skin, and a warm face walked out. She wore a Dark blue Button up shirt, Black skirt, and Black flats. Her hair tied back in a bun and in her small chubby hand was what looked to be a Jar of something. That must be the pantry, I mused as she looked up from reading the label, her eyes widening slightly before smiling gently. "Good evening Mr. Stryker."

"Ah Good Evening Ms. Potts. This is my Niece, Claire. Claire this is our House Keeper, Ms. Potts." They even have a Maid! I nodded my head knowing that if I smiled it would look too forced.

"Hello there darling, you are very pretty."

"T-Thank you." I whispered my cheeks blushing at her warmness and motherliness. Motherliness…. My mind shot me back into reality as Ms. Potts was talking to my uncle.

"-For Dinner?" Ms. Potts said.

"Yes Spaghetti will be fine, just make extra garlic bread. You know how Sora is." Ms. Potts laughed and nodded,

"Of Course Mr. Stryker. Know if you two will excuse me." She bowed politely and walked towards one of the counters and pulled out some pots. Cloud smiled at the older woman before walking to the right of the kitchen where another dining table was this one much more simpler than the one at the entrance. It was just a squared wood table with matching wood chairs; the seats of the chairs seemed to be white pillows.

Another door was right beside the table and I stared at it. "That's the laundry room." Answered Cloud as he caught my vision. I nodded and looked to the left of the table where the dining room was. We walked through it and went back to the entrance, Cloud climbed up the steps and I followed quietly behind. When we reached the top, large thumps began to sound on the dark wood of the upstairs floor. My eyes looked up just in time as a large black and gold Doberman came thundering down one of the halls.

"No, Pluto! Sit." Cloud commanded the dog instantly stopping and sitting, his dog tag which was attached to a black collar thumping against his furry chest. His tongue rolled out of his mouth as he stared at Cloud who petted him.

"This is the family Pet, Pluto." He walked past him and Pluto followed him, craning his neck to watch him. But once he couldn't he turned his dark brown eyes to me. I took a step forward smiling gently and leaned down a bit sticking out my hand to him. Pluto sniffed my hand and gave it a gentle lick before he cocked his head to the left his tongue once again rolling out. I petted him between the ear, before scratching, Pluto leaning closer to my touch.

"You never had a dog before?" Cloud asked watching me intently; I shook my head, no. Cloud nodded before realization hit him. "Your mom was allergic to dogs wasn't she?" He said and I looked down the image of my mother smiling once again coming to the front of my mind. I nodded and Cloud sighed,

"I'm sorry." He said realizing what he had said. "Back to the tour." He mumbled pointing to the spot in front of us. I stood and realized that this was another living room except it seemed more like a guy room. The room was grey and the couches were red, another large plasma TV was on the wall between two rather large windows. A cabinet was underneath the TV where a bunch of Video Games, Movies, and Gaming Consoles were.

"This is the gaming room where the boys usually are." He then pointed to the right where one door was right between two large paintings and two cabinets but decided to show it to me as he walked over and opened it.

"This is mine and Leon's room the master bedroom." The room was huge. That's all I could say. There was a King size bed in the middle with two night stands on either side, a large area where they had a desk and their own personal living room. There was a hallway which I could only guess was the bathroom. I nodded and took a step back; Cloud closed the door before going to the left of the living room where there were two separate halls. Separated by a row of counters that had pictures of them and maybe friends?

"The hall on the right is Where Sora's room and Roxas's rooms are. Your room is to the left." He explained as he walked over to the left and walked through the hall. It was painted Gray like the rest of the top floor and he finally reached the White door at the end. "This is your room." He opened the door and stepped inside allowing me as well.

The room was bigger than my old one that was for sure. Well… I hadn't even had a room it was just a small section in the apartment that was closed off with a curtain. This room was a probably the same size as our studio apartment. Two of the walls were painted a light green while the other two were just white; the floor was a greyish brown type of carpet. The bed was a king size and was pushed against the wall right in front of the door which was painted green. It had two light brown nightstands beside the bed which had light green blankets and two large white pillows, two medium sized dark green pillows, and one small brown pillow. On one of the nightstands was an alarm clock and on the other was a green lamp. A light desk was placed to the right of the room against one of the white walls with a white plush looking chair. The desk was beside an open doorway which must be the bathroom I guessed. There was also a Green Loveseat to the left which was between a small table with a plant and a white bookshelf. They were leaning against a large window, with white curtains, that brought in the yellow evening sun and the view of the front of the house. In the middle of the room was a White rug white had light green swirls in the middle.

I walked into the doorway on the right and was surprised to see two doors, "One is the walk in closet and the other is the bathroom." Cloud said opening the door to the left which was the walk in and then the door on the right which was a very nice bathroom. It had a large mirror with a white counter with a very spacious sink. Drawers were underneath the counters and the toilet was to the right with a cabinet above it. Straight across from the door was the shower/ bathtub. The walls were painted Green following the same theme of the bedroom.

Cloud walked back into the bathroom and I followed dropping the duffel bag on the bed. My eyes glancing over at the clock that read, 6:35. Cloud crossed his arms and watched me for a few second before finally speaking.

"I'm going to go help Ms. Potts with Dinner, Leon took the boys to get some supplies for school. I'll take you tomorrow since we have to go sign you up and for you to take the entrance exam. I also have to go and get your uniform. You can unpack and I'll come up to call you to dinner. If you are not ready than you can eat here in your room or you can eat with us. I am not going to force you to do anything the choice is yours, Claire." Cloud nodded and turned just as Pluto trotted into the room and jumped on my bed, making himself comfortable on the green sheets.

"Pluto-" Cloud began but I cut him off. "It's okay." I whispered rubbing my arm, feeling the softness of the hoody rub against my arm. He looked at me and Smiled,

"Okay, I'll be up in an hour." The older man turned and walked out of the room closing the door softly behind him and leaving me alone.

_**(Damn longest chapter I have ever written! Well Hello there this is actually my first story Kingdom Hearts/ Final Fantasy story ever and I am excited. Just two things you should know about me is that if you review I update faster so maybe just two or three reviews to get me started. And two yes this is a yaoi story if you haven't read the description. This will also be a love triangle story between Lightning, Luxord, and Zack. If you have any questions don't be afraid to ask! Thanks for checking it out and hope you continue reading it!)**_


	2. Try

_**Disclaimer: I do not own this, all rights go to their respective parties.**_

_**Summary: Claire Lightning Strife is set to live with her uncle Cloud after her mother is murdered. She is forced to pack up her minimum belongings and move from Oblivion District to the richest and most luxurious part of Twilight Town, Radiant garden. Where she realizes how different her mother and Cloud's lives truly are. Then there is also the rising concern of Larxene's killer. Who is he? Why did he kill Larxene? These are all Question's she asks herself. But most importantly. Will she be next? **_

_**Pairings: Luxord/Lightning/Zack, Cloud/Leon. Axel/Roxas, and Sora/Riku.**_

_**A/N: This story will contain drug usage and other graphic content such as self harm. It waill also contain some mature and dark themes that will be occuring in future chapters just a warning.**_

* * *

The moment the door closes, I freely gawk at the room. The bed was huge, much bigger than my little kid twin bed at home. Home. Did I even have a home? I sit on the edge of the bed and note that it is rather comfortable. No springs acting rebellious and hurting or making me feel uncomfortable. Home was wherever Larxene was, even if it was that small and bare studio. Even if half, more like a third of the time she was unable to even care for herself. I always felt at Home with her.

She was the only family I knew. She was the only person who had ever given me a roof and food, well most of the time. But know that I was living with Cloud, was this home? No. I shook my head, strands of my hair falling.

There was no longer a place to call Home. This wasn't home; this was just a house that I had been sent to live in. A family that had taken me in seeing that I was an orphan with nowhere to go. It was Pity. All of this… Luxury didn't belong to me and it never would. I was a Peasant among Kings. A black sheep like… Like Larxene.

I ran a hand through my hair and rubbed my eyes. I stood from the bed and grabbed the Duffel bag and headed to the closet. I opened the door and turned on the light, looking at the hallway and all the space in it. I rubbed my arm again and took a step forward and just kneeled in front of a set of drawers and opened the one at the bottom.

It was empty. What the hell was I expecting? I sighed and shook my head before zipping open the bag. I first removed the folder and put it beside me. Did Cloud have these documents? My Birth certificate, social security, my Vaccine card, and my medical history? I sighed again and leaned back on my legs before pulling out my jeans. I made sure to fold them neatly and put them in the drawer. I then stared at the drawer realizing how empty it looked still after I had put the jeans.

I closed it and opened the one on top of it. Empty. I put a couple of shirts, mostly of Luxord, ranging from Plain, V-neck, and baseball tees. I took out some Tank tops and spaghetti straps as well and put them there. This one looked much more filled but still not enough. I spotted my underwear and bras. My cheeks reddened. Did Lux see them? I removed the thought from my head and put them on the first drawer the one above my shirt drawer and then put the socks in the top drawer as well. Some of them were mine while others were Luxord's as well. I was really going to have to thank him. I checked the remainder of the bag and noticed a couple pairs of Shorts, basketball shorts and Cargo shorts. They were all boyish but it was summer.

I put them in my jean drawer and then reached for the remainder of the clothing in the bag which right underneath the shorts were three pairs of Jeans, baggy of course. Underneath the jeans were two belts, one was just a plain black studded one while the other was white, I put those in my underwear drawer. My shoes were at the bottom and I put them beside the drawer in the empty hanger area. When I was taking out my Vans I realized that there was a box pressed against the side of the bag. I pulled it out and out of habit looked out into my room. Checking to see if anyone was there.

Pluto was still curled on my bed but raised his head to watch me for a second before lying back down. I sat back down and opened the box. A very old but simple blue cell phone was in it. The clean and untouched cover gleaming as the bright light of the closet hit it. It was one of those old type flip phones but I was completely captivated by it.

I had never had one. I never needed one and the only reason Larxene had one was to call the local drug dealers for her usual dosage. I flipped it open and the screen was just a simple blue background with the time in bold white numbers in the corner. I furrowed my brows before going to the contacts and found only one. All it had was an L but I knew who it was. I closed the closet door and crawled to the back. I pressed the green phone icon on the phone pad and put the phone to my ear. The phone rang exactly three times before a deep voice answered, playfulness laced in it.

"You finally found it." His words sent a wave of warmth through me. A wave of familiarity and I pulled my knees to my chest, a way to keep it inside of me. A way to keep the feeling in and let it sink through everything else. Maybe it would destroy all the darkness? "Yeah, I did." I whispered and he chuckled on the other end.

"I'm taking it you arrived with Cloud?" The way he said his name gave me a feeling that he didn't exactly like Cloud.

"Yeah… His house is huge. You don't like him?" I questioned.

"It's not that I don't like the guy. It's just you don't know him. You should be with someone who you know. Especially at a time like this. But whatever man, he's a therapist right? He should know what he's doing. So… How ya feeling?"

If it would have been anyone else who had asked me that, I would have scoffed maybe even snorted. But it was Luxord, someone who actually knew me and someone who I knew actually cared about my well-being. I sighed and laid my head on my knees.

"I don't know," I answered honestly, "I really don't know how I am. I just… I feel…" I couldn't find the right words and I heard Luxord sigh on the other end.

"God Dammit Lightning." He growled and I closed my eyes, shutting them tightly as I heard him say my Middle name. Only two people had ever called me by my second name and one of them was no longer here. But the strength of it, the memories and the emotions it held sent the tornado of memories into chaos. Memories began to shoot all over my mind, memories of Lux, Memories of Larxene, and memories of what my life used to be.

"Light?" Luxord said from the other line and I barely choked out an audible "Hmm." Causing him to grow even more frustrated.

"I fucking knew I should have kept you here. I knew I should have fought harder for them to leave you here or at least let you stick around next to me until you were more emotionally stable. Fuck why didn't I do that! I could have probably done it, gotten a week or two for you to get over everything before sending you to live with a man you barely even knew existed. Hell you didn't even know he did, fuck man." He growled at himself. "Lightning, you have no idea how badly I want to run to you right now. I want to go over there break down the fucking rich guys door and let you see at least one familiar face but I can't Light. That's why I got you this phone. So you can call me whenever you need. So you won't feel alone. Shit, to be honest I also got it for my sake. You're what forty minutes away now? You were only five here. No matter how small your problem is let me know alright? Hell maybe it's that you slammed the door on your finger, I want to know." He rambled and I realized how badly this was affecting Luxord as well. Lux was the calmest person I knew but know here he was Rambling.

"Lux?"

"Yeah?" He said stopping his rambling for a second.

"Thank you." I whispered and I heard him breathe in.

"For what?"

"For everything. Taking care of me, getting me the phone, and giving me your clothes."

"Don't thank me kid." He said seriously, "I just want you to know that, no matter what I'll always be here for you. And I want you to listen up. Don't waste this opportunity. Everything you are handed, don't let it go to waste. This is a moment for you to prove that you are on the same level as all those rich folk."

I smiled and shook my head at his words but knew they were true. "I know and I will."

"You better because if I hear you're being a brat I will personally go and spank you." This made a small laugh come bubbling to the surface, ripping its way through the thick layer of anger and sadness. Giving me a moment of happiness and peace. Luxord laughed as well and sighed.

"Oh Light… I'm sorry." He said sincerely and I sighed as well.

"For what?" I whispered.

"For what you're going through…. I'm sorry."

I leaned my head against the cool wall and stared at the ceiling. Staring intently at the white ceiling and the dark green design around the light, watching as it swerved and curved every here and there.

"It's not your fault, it's not like you knew it was going to happen."

"Yeah… But I still feel bad." He answered and they stayed silent just acknowledging and enjoying the others presence. Just soaking in the presence of the other.

"What time is it?" I finally said after a few minutes. "7:30, you need to go?"

I sighed and said, "Yeah, Cloud wants me to go and eat downstairs but I don't know. He gave me the option of eating in my room if I'm not up for it." I replied honestly again.

"Lightning, If you feel like you're ready, than go ahead. Try it out at least right now. Try but if you feel like things are going to quick then just go and eat in your room or something. Don't push yourself."

I knew he was right, I didn't want to push myself. I would try. "Okay."

"Alright, I'll text you later on, in the night. Light?"

"Hmm?"

"Don't let Cloud know about this phone, the last thing we need is for him to take it away because of some stupid Therapist hunch or advice. This phone is only for you and me alright?"

"Yeah I know. I wasn't going to tell him anyway." I say and strangely I feel guilty.

"Alright, I'll talk to you later okay."

"Okay Bye Luxord."

"Bye Lightning don't push yourself."

He said as the phone went dead. I flipped the phone closed and stared at it for a few more seconds as the warm feeling disappeared. Replacing it with a strong feeling of emptiness and loneliness. I had to fight the urge to dial his number again.

I wanted and craved the feeling of warmth and familiarity. I wanted to grab it and return it, to feel something but this. I pulled the hoody closer to my body and buried my face into one of the sleeves. It smelled of smoke and cologne. A smell that I affiliated with Luxord. A smell that brought back the feeling of familiarity, but not as strongly as when I was talking to him. It was a good replacement and maybe together it would make a great but nothing would compare to having him here next to me. The only person who I truly felt no me and understood me.

The only person who probably knew what I was feeling after all both of Lux's parents had died. He probably understood these feelings better than anyone, maybe even better than myself since they must have been stronger. I took another sniff of the sleeve and could feel the return of the warmth.

Suddenly the phone vibrated and I flipped it open.

"I'll text you later tonight. Try."

I smiled gently and typed a quick, "Okay." Before shutting the phone and sticking it in the pocket of the hood. He really did understand me.

I stood and walked over to the drawers and opened the underwear one putting the phone underneath a pile of my underwear before closing it. I grabbed the duffel and put it on top of the drawers before turning off the light and closing the closet door.

Just in time as well, because then a knock sounded through my new bedroom room. I walked out of the hall and into the main room and opened the door. Cloud was standing on the other side and smiled at me. "Do you want to eat downstairs or would you like me to bring up a plate?"

I looked down at my shoes, "I'll eat downstairs." I said slowly. Cloud smiled and nodded before taking a step back. I walked outside and waited as Pluto trotted out of my room. When he stepped out his ears perked up and he listened closely before bolting towards the stairs. Cloud laughed gently, "Well I guess he heard Sora."

Cloud led the way downstairs and as we turned into the dining room I could hear voices, and rustling coming from the kitchen. Plates and silverware clanked as they were moved and fits of laughter broke out occasionally. I noticed that the closer we got to the kitchen the more Cloud's whole body seemed to relax, His shoulders lowering and his head rising higher. A slight bounce to his step as he neared the location of his family. That was probably what having a close family did to you. I knew nothing about that. Was that maybe the warmth I felt when I talked with Lux?

The same warmth that filled your whole body starting from your toes to the top of your head. The calmness that fills you when you talk to them and know that they are there, still breathing. Whatever that warmth was, I was going to hold onto it. No matter what I was going to keep Luxord close. And in the back of my mind I hoped that maybe he felt that warmth as well, maybe that was the reason why he had bought me the phone. He didn't want to let me go either, maybe he craved that warmth that sense of understanding, the same that I felt. Maybe we weren't so different. Maybe we just needed someone to care and look out for us, someone to give us what we had been missing since the beginning.

Love. Unconditional love, love that was shown through everything, love that wasn't forgotten the minute they were under a substance or had ran out of it. We needed love that would always stay there, present even through the worst times. A love that sadly, our parents had never shown us. But maybe this was the time to make up for that.

I suddenly became aware that we had entered the kitchen, all the movement stopped and I was drawn back to the present and out of my little realization thought. The four inhabitants of the kitchen were all watching me. Watching my every movement, my every breath, and the way my eyes scanned the room.

Ms. Potts was the first to move, snapping out of her trance and walking to the table to put a bowl of what looked like Salad on the table.

Sora was next and suddenly his voice broke the silence. "Hey! You must be Claire!" He yelled happily as he nearly jumped over the Island and ran over to me. He was a ball of Hyper Active energy and was friendly, a bit too friendly.

He stopped in front of me and I got a good look at him. His light brown hair was in Gravity defying spikes, his eyes were a bright sky blue which sparkled and glittered showing his energy, His skin was a light shade of tan and made his smile brighter. His smile was perfect and enormous. His teeth perfectly straight, bleach white, and as I mentioned before, just oozed friendliness.

He was rather short, probably 5'6 or something, I was never good at guessing someone's height. Though I am sure I beat him by two inches.

He was wearing a Light blue Polo shirt which probably made his eyes brighter than in the picture, a pair of light jeans, and some blue vans. A silver necklace was around his neck and was holding a silver Crown which gleamed in the kitchen light. He was a friendly, hyper, and artsy kid.

He was artsy because I noticed the smudges of what looked like Charcoal on the pads of his thumb and index, as well as a red bump on the inside of his ring finger. Evidence that probably earlier that day he had either been sketching or doing something with a pencil for a long period of time.

He stuck out his hand and smiled even bigger, something that shouldn't have been possible. "Hiya! I'm Sora; I'm Leon's Son… And Clouds of course! But technically I'm his step son and Leon's bio- something kid." He said, and I looked at his hand for a second before extending mine.

"Claire." I said simply as we shook hands. Sora's eyes brightened even more looking like a diamond, and nodded. He let go of my hand and put his hands behind his back, leaning back on his heels and cocked his head to the left. "Come on Roxas! You have to introduce yourself too!" Sora said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Cloud shook his head, "Sora…. Calm down."

Sora reddened but nodded his head skipping away. Roxas walked slowly over to me and stood in front of me. He was rubbing the back of his neck, shyly and looked up.

He was truly a spitting image of Cloud. His hair was spikey, a bit tamer than Sora's and the shade of Blonde like Cloud's. His eyes were a darker blue and looked more like an ocean blue, going perfectly with his calm and almost shy like personality. His skin was a bit on the pale side but he wasn't as pale as me.

His height was between me and Sora, an inch taller than his brother and an inch shorter than me. But it fit him especially since he was a bit more toned that his brother. Maybe he was a swimmer or maybe a runner? I would even go far enough to say he was maybe a basketball player but I would put my bets on a runner.

Though his smile was quite similar to Sora's it was still bright and friendly, but his was more reserved, almost like he was saving it. He must be more private, have a smaller group of friends than his step-brother.

He also had a different dress style than Sora. Roxas wore a Dark Grey V-neck, A pair of Khaki Pants, and a pair of Gray and white Hi-top sneakers. On his wrists he wore black and white checkered wrist bands, and around his neck he wears the same silver chain except on his a strange X-like shape is dangling off of it.

Roxas looks at his dad and then to me before sticking out his hand, "Roxas." He says simply and I nod.

"Claire." We shake hands but only briefly before he lets go and walks over to the Island, picking up a Plate piled with Garlic bread. Ms. Potts did make a lot.

A figure appears in front of me once more and I have to move my head up in order to see My Uncle's partner. Leon is, obviously, quite tall, his hair a bit longer than in the picture but still the same Dark brown. Maybe Sora's mom has light hair like him? His eyes are a darker shade of Blue than his son's, looking more like Roxas's. And the scar that runs across his face really does make him more masculine.

If that is even possible after all he does have a toned and quite muscular build. His muscles flexing underneath his White T-shirt. He is also wearing a pair of Black Pants and Boots which adds even more masculinity to his already masculine frame. He nods to me before saying, "Leon." And going about his business. To some that may seem rude but I am actually grateful that he didn't wait for a reply. The less I talk the better. Since it seems that I have to focus on keeping my voice even and not letting it waver or crack.

Cloud smiles and walks over to the table. "You can just sit down; we will be sitting down right now to eat." "Oh she's eating with us!" Yells Sora from somewhere inside the pantry and I see Leon toss a glare to his son from where he's leaning against the doorway. "Yes Sora, She is." Cloud responds calmly, smiling at Leon, who chuckles and rubs the side of his mouth with his thumb. Possibly hiding a smile?

Cloud moves to pull out a chair and I clear my throat stopping him. "Can… I go and wash my hands." I say a bit too lowly but hey, it's better than a whisper right? Cloud blinks before nodding. "It's right over there." He says pointing to the door of the… was it a Laundry room? I nod and make my way over to the door. I open it slowly and walk inside the lit room that smells of Detergent. I close the door behind me and lean my back against the door. Breathing deeply as a wave of tiredness sweeps over me.

I was exhausted. But I didn't understand why after all I hadn't done absolutely anything. Maybe it was the fact that I had tried so hard to keep my voice neutral or maybe it was because I was trying so hard to not remember anything and just focus on the moment.

Luxord had been right, I should try but I was at the limit. Maybe this was too quick. I sighed and looked at the room I was currently in. It was the laundry room. There was a washer and a Drawer pressed against the corner and six light cupboards things, they looked like Cubbies. Some of them had clothing each of them looking to belong to a different person. Maybe Cloud and the others had their own and they would come pick it up?

I breathed in deeply through my nose; I was completely out of my comfort zone. They had a maid who cleaned up after them and washed their clothing. I had been the maid at my house, cleaning the house so it at least looked presentable. Going to wash the clothes at the Laundry Mat, folding it, and then either putting the clothes on my Mom's Bed or Mine. Mom.

The name shot through me and I felt the same burning in my eyes and my lips twitching at the edges fighting hard to not frown and give up. I swallowed the lump in my throat and quickly hurried into the bathroom. The only other door in the room of Laundry equipment. I opened the door and turned on the lights, closing the door just as quickly as I had opened it. I went to the sink and clutched the sides of it before looking into the mirror.

If there was a word to describe how I looked it would be one simple word. Depressed. My hair wasn't its usual shiny self but a dull and limp mess being pushed down by my beanie. I pulled the black material lower, making my bangs fall lower on my eye. The other one was dull as well, the specks of green not really visible in the dark blue abyss.

Purple bags decorated my eyes, making my face seem even paler and even thinner. My cheeks held no color and my bottom lip had a couple of cuts from where I had been biting it and peeling the skin. The Hoody was huge and hid my thin frame; it looked more like a dress stopping mid-thigh.

My thought of earlier before once again entered my mind, I was a peasant among King's. Even the urge to cry had disappeared and been replaced by me being Uncomfortable. I pulled up the sleeves of my sweater and quickly washed and dried my hands. I averted my gaze from the rather large mirror and made myself promise not to look at one until I felt ready to.

I walked out of the Bathroom and just as I was about to open the door I heard Cloud's voice, "She's been in there for too Long, Leon."

"Cloud, you have to be patient. She's still getting her emotions in check. Maybe all this was too much and she just needs to take a breath. She'll come out when she's ready." Leon's deep voice said and I was taken aback. How in the hell did he know that was what I was doing?

Wasn't Cloud the Therapist? I knew Leon was a police officer but since when did the Police officer know more than the damn Therapist?

I heard a noise and knew that Cloud had sat down. "Fine, Okay. It's just…" Cloud trailed off and I pressed my ear to the door, not sure why I wanted to hear his answer. "I know Cloud, but you just have to have a clear head." Leon Comforted and I knew he wasn't going to answer. I turned the door knob and slowly and quietly walked out. I felt their eyes on me and quickly closed the door. I looked up and realized there were two seats open in the dining table that sat six.

Cloud sat on one end of the table the one farther away from me, to his right sat Roxas, then Sora, and then on the other end closer to me sat Leon. The seats on my right side, his left were empty they had given me a choice on where to seat. I could either sit next to Cloud, and allow myself to talk to him or sit next to Leon and just sit in a comfortable silence. I looked down as I knew the answer was clear. I walked slowly to the table and sat down in one of the chairs.

The one right beside Leon, and stared at the empty plate in front of me. At the corner of my eye I could see Cloud's face fall and he looked away towards Ms. Potts. In an attempt to keep his emotions hidden away from me but I had seen it.

Ms. Potts walked over silently, and quietly began to serve the spaghetti. When she got to me she put a small portion less than the palm of my hand and looked at me.

"More Dear?" I looked up at her and could see the small but still warm smile on her face and shook my head. "That's fine."

She nodded and put the Bowl down and then went around with the salad which I declined. I declined the offer of the Garlic bread as well and after she had poured our drink, which was pink, she disappeared. Everyone began to eat and I stared at the red noodles with a meatball hidden underneath.

The guilt of having not sat next to Cloud climbing up my body and filling it with ice. I moved my fork around and slowly twirled it getting one noodle and sticking it in my mouth. It was probably delicious but the taste didn't sink in. It just felt like something foreign.

When was the last time I ate? I furrowed my brows and breathed slowly through my mouth as the icy feeling became more like something freezing me from the inside. The exhaustion attacked me as well and I could feel myself giving up, slowly failing.

"So Claire…. How old are you?" Sora said taking a huge bite of Garlic bread.

"Sixteen." I said simply still staring at my food and noticing that my left hand was shaking.

"Oh! You're a year younger than me! Well than me and Roxas! That's awesome I always wanted a younger sibling even though your taller than me! That is so awesome!"

I didn't say anything just continued to put all my focus on controlling my hand, forcing it to put another noodle of spaghetti into my mouth. The foreign feeling making me even more uncomfortable.

"She's going to our school right?" Sora said, but he wasn't referring to me anymore. Cloud responded.

"Yes, I am going to take her tomorrow to take the test and then get her uniform."

"Uniform? Dad, we don't wear uniform anymore remember? We only wear the White Button up shirt now. You don't have to get the pants or in her case the skirt." Sora said.

Pick the noddle up. Put it in my mouth. Chew it uncomfortably. Swallow. Force my hand not to shake.

"Oh right. I forgot." Murmured Cloud, his mind not entirely focused on Sora. I peaked at him from under my bangs and realized he was watching me. I looked down at my plate and noticed that now both of my hands were shaking. I put the fork down on the plate as quietly as I could. Bit my lip and hid my hands on my lap.

"Are you alright Clair-?"

"Can I…. Go…?"

I said in a whisper, so low that I was surprised Leon had heard me. "Go ahead." He said and I didn't wait for him to respond as my eyes began to sting again and my hands began to shake to the point where I couldn't stop them. My head felt light and my lip was beginning to tremble. I was breaking down and I didn't want to do it here.

I walked away as slowly as I could, walking out of the kitchen and going to the stairs. The minute my foot fell on the step I felt the first tear slowly fall down my cheek and I Ran up them. Bolting it to my room-No the room Cloud had let me use and swung the door open shutting it closed with my foot.

I was sobbing; my breathing coming in gasps, and my vision blurred as I finally grabbed the phone, locked myself in the bathroom, slunk down next to the toilet, and dialed Luxord's number. He answered on the second ring.

"Lightning-" His voice and him saying my name broke the dam and I couldn't hold it back anymore. The sobs clawed their way free and I let out the tears and emotions of the past three days in that one moment. "I-I…I-I Couldn't!" I sobbed as I pulled my legs up to my chest.

I sobbed freely into the phone and Luxord didn't hang up. He listened to me and consoled me as much as he could. But once he realized that it just made me cry more. He stopped and stayed silent. He listened, and listened, until I cried out for the last time until blackness overcame me.

_**(Damn…. Quite the depressing chapter isn't it? Well here's the chapter even though no one is reviewing which is fine ya know it's only been up a few days and plus I want you guys to see that I am a constant updater just leave me at least one review. That's all I ask. Well stick around!)**_


	3. A Day Out

_**Disclaimer: I do not own this, all rights go to their respective parties.**_

_**Summary: Claire Lightning Strife is sent to live with her uncle Cloud after her mother is murdered. She is forced to pack up her minimum belongings and move from Oblivion District to the richest and most luxurious part of Twilight Town, Radiant garden. Where she realizes how different her mother and Cloud's lives truly are. Then there is also the rising concern of Larxene's killer. Who is he? Why did he kill Larxene? These are all Question's she asks herself. But most importantly. Will she be next? **_

_**Pairings: Luxord/Lightning/Zack, Cloud/Leon. Axel/Roxas, and Sora/Riku.**_

_**A/N: This story will contain drug usage and other graphic content such as self harm. It will also contain some mature and dark themes that will be occuring in future chapters just a warning.**_

* * *

The red liquid gleamed menacingly in the flickering light of the dirty and trashed hallway. Black trash bags and empty glass bottles strewn around the stained brown carpet of the Apartment or maybe Hotel? I wasn't entirely sure what it was but it felt familiar, like I had been here at some point. The peeling dark green walls were decorated with Graffiti, Dirt marks, and even a couple of cockroaches that scattered as I neared them following the crimson trail that led to the door of the room at the end of the hall.

I didn't know why I was following it, but something was pushing me towards it. Controlling my body and moving my legs against my will. The silence that filled the hallway filled me with Dread. Making my heart pound at a furious pace in my chest. The frantic beats almost deafening me as I slowly inched forward.

The blood trail seemed to get messier as I got closer to the probable source. The trail seeming to have been smeared onto the walls and onto other spots on the carpet. Whoever had been injured had put up a fight and hadn't been taken down so easily.

Once I finally made it to the door the light suddenly flickered out and I gasped taking a step back. My foot, which I just realized was bare, stepped into the cold crimson river. The coldness seeming to fuel my fear and I quickly took it out grasping the door knob and retracting it as blood smeared onto my palm.

I wiped it on my jeans, but all it did was stain my pants and remain on my palm. I swallowed thickly and looked at crack of the door that was somewhat open. The door's small opening allowed a sliver of light to escape but not enough to illuminate the hall. Just a few inches in front of it, enough to brighten my hand and show that the blood was there.

I breathed through my nose, trying to calm myself as I pushed the door open warily. The door opened and creaked loudly as it slowly opened itself. Allowing me to see the inside and I stumbled back raising my hand to my mouth. The blood was everywhere, the crimson liquid dripping down from the wall and onto the ground.

It seemed almost like a blood ocean and in the middle of the empty room was a body floating. The person was wrapped securely in a White sheet that seemed to be untouched by the blood surrounding it. I walked forward and almost tumbled as my foot sank into the ocean of blood, forcing me to hold onto the doorframe. I stared at the body and looked around searching for anything to get across on.

There was nothing. I looked down and watched the blood ripple at my almost stumble. I slowly put my foot inside of the blood and bit my lip as I felt my leg sink further and further until reaching a flat surface. The blood was up to my knee and I had to kneel slightly in order to reach it. I sat down and began the next slow process of sinking my other leg.

I shivered as it seemed to wrap itself around my leg following me and not releasing his hold as I struggled to walk through it. The water rippling and small little waves being created by my movement. Splashing against my thighs and even staining the edge of my shirt. The blood soaking into the fabric, and droplets hitting here and there.

I neared the body and the rippling suddenly stopped. I slowly with shaking fingers reached out and grasped the silky material. I pulled it away and the material floated in the blood, not soaking in the blood but just floating on top of it. Almost as if there was a barrier between the sheet and the ocean of it. I flipped over the other sheet and could see more clearly the figure of the figure, who I know realized, was a woman.

I grabbed the hem of the next sheet and pulled it away seeing a purplish limb with bruises. I quickly moved forward and tossed open the next sheet, before leaning back and staring with wide eyes at who I had uncovered.

It was my mother, lying with her eyes open. Her eyes opened wide and blank as she stared at something that wasn't there. Her hair soaked with blood at the back and blood dripping down her face from the wound in her head. Her lips were opened in the form of some word, the last word that had escaped her mouth before she had been murdered.

The name of maybe her killer? I leaned closer in an attempt to maybe just maybe, get a clue of who that person might be. My hands laid gently on one of the sheets and I realized that the sheet seemed like a table, sturdy enough to support my weight.

I lifted myself up just a bit but winced as something dug into my palm. It stung and I dropped back into the blood, pulling my hand to my chest. A syringe was tightly gripped in my mother's hand and I stared at it blankly.

Was that what this was about? They killed her because she didn't pay for her drugs? Or maybe she hadn't sold enough of it, was she a drug dealer who just hadn't made the cut?

All the possible reasons began to run through my mind and I pressed my hands to my temple. I didn't even care that I was getting blood on my face. The pain coursing through my head was torturous. Something moved against my hip and I slowly opened my eyes to investigate. Nothing was moving the only thing beside me was my mother's limp hand and her abandoned syringe. What the Hell?

I moved forward and leaned down, putting my face close to the hand. Did it move? But wasn't she dead? Craning my neck to be able to see my mother, I realized that she wasn't moving or breathing. Than what the hell had moved against me? Maybe it was something inside the blood-

The hand moved quickly and wrapped itself around my neck. I choked and tried to pry it off but it would budge, the fingernails pressing themselves against the skin of my neck. Clawing the sensitive and fragile skin. I struggled panic filling me as I began to lose my breath, the urge to breathe becoming more apparent as the burning in my lungs grew.

My eyes widened as suddenly my mom's body sat up, the sheet wrapped around her falling forward and showing her bare chest to me. I kicked and tried to scream but only managing a choked wheezing sound. Her eyes moved from staring directly in front of her to me. Her eyes were dark and she smiled psychotically at me.

She laughed, her voice seeming to echo off the walls as she pulled me higher, almost completely out of the blood. Only my ankles still dunked inside, giggling as she watched me fight for my breath. She clicked her tongue at me and with her other hand moved her index finger in a no gesture. "No, No Lightning."

She said softly and I stared at her, Tears coming to my eyes. "Why must you be such a bad girl?" She said in a scolding voice as she grasped my wrist with her other hand and turned it to where it was pointing up wards. Her fingernail scratching against the inside as she passed through the many cuts that I had caused myself.

"All these cuts, but yet you didn't die. What a shame…." She trailed off, before looking at me with the same Psychotic smile. "Even the scars I gave you didn't do the job." She said releasing my hand and lifting my shirt. Her index keeping the shirt up while her pinky nail scraped against the scar that ran from the top of my rib cage to the side of my belly button.

I fought even harder, as much as I could from the lack of oxygen and kicked as I felt the stinging from the cut on my abdomen and the ones from my wrist. She had somehow opened them and they were now both dripping blood, the drops dripping quickly into the ocean below.

"So many times I tried… But this time I will not fail." She laughed and squeezed my throat more, now fully closing off my air pipe. I gasped for air and clawed at her hand with my workable hand the one that wasn't bleeding profusely and making me light headed.

"Don't fight it Lightning." She whispered and suddenly her head snapped to the left, where I had come from. A figure stood in the doorway, a hood covering his head and a Black Pistol gripped firmly in a black gloved hand.

"You!" She hissed and loosened her hold on my neck giving me the chance to breathe in deeply enough to give me more energy to fight. "Get out!" She screamed. A gunshot rang out and struck her, she dropped me and I screamed as I fell into the ocean of Blood.

I awoke with a gasp, and cried out as a searing hot pain went through my neck. Fighting through it, I stood and stumbled to the mirror pulling back the sleeve of the Hoody to examine the white lines scarring my wrist. They were old and had healed after time, none of them having been bothered in quite a while. I then proceeded to remove the Hoody as well as the shirt and stare at my bare abdomen, looking at the brownish pinkish jagged scar that ran across it.

Just as the scar before this one had not been disturbed either. Then what the hell was up with the nightmare? Was it due to lack of sleep? Maybe the exhaustion had gotten to my head? I wasn't entirely sure and I didn't want to remember it either.

But it had been so real! Everything, ranging from the feel of blood on my legs, to the sound of her voice, to even the feel of her hands around my throat. But the only question that continued to race through my head was who was that man? The man with the Black hood and gun. Who had shot Larxene in order to free me? I cursed myself, it was just a nightmare.

It didn't mean crap, a nightmare is a nightmare and that's all. Then my attention was drawn away from my thoughts to the image reflecting off the mirror. Shit, was the only word that came to my mind as I stared at the puffy red tinted eyes looking back at me. Wasn't I supposed to take a test or something today? And hadn't I made myself promise that I would never look at a mirror?

I rolled my eyes, turned, and spotted the abandoned phone on the ground that was still flipped open. I kneeled and picked it up, seeing that the white bold number read, 9:24 a.m. damn, it was late. I walked out of the bathroom and gathered some clothes. Maybe a warm shower would make me at least presentable for today.

I reentered the bathroom and began my search for the necessary toiletries I would need. I pulled open some of the drawers before finding one that was filled with an array of items. It had some lotion, a hair and tooth brush, toothpaste, deodorant, and even some razors. I quickly took out all of the items and set them on the bathroom counter. With some difficulty I opened that Toothbrush case and the razor box.

I uncapped the deodorant, noting that it was a brand that I didn't know and sniffed it. It was quite strong and the smell was of flowers. Not really to my taste but, I wasn't going to start being picky. I continued my search and found the Shampoo, Body Wash, and Conditioner already in the bathtub. The bathtub was huge, almost big enough to fit at least four people. I put the razor on one of the ledges in the tub and turned the faucets, adjusting the water to my liking.

I undressed quickly only having to remove my bra and beanie from the top half of my body. Then after having removed my shoes, socks, pants, and undies, got into the shower and enjoyed the feel of the warm water against my back. The water helping to release the tension from my body.

Showering quickly as to not be late, I washed my hair and body with the shampoo and body wash. It smelled of Vanilla and Cinnamon which I actually liked. After I finished rinsing of the remaining soap, I poured a small amount of condition into my palm and slowly massaged it into my hair. I washed it off and realized how soft my hair felt. Wow, it felt really silky.

I shaved my legs, and noted that the razor almost seemed to glide over my leg. My old razor used to cut me all the time. Well I guess the rich don't really have to deal with bad Razors right? I turned off the water and I dried myself off with one of the biggest towels in the world. My thin frame almost disappeared in the blanket like towel.

After finishing I wrapped the towel around my hair and quickly changed into my underwear and then put on a pair of Boyish Cargo shorts which were held up by the Black studded belt. I put on a Black tank top that fit me tight, enough to show my womanly curves, but in length it was long enough that I could pass it off as a very slutty dress.

I scrunched up the shirt at the waistband of the shorts, tugging it down a bit past it just so it wouldn't look odd. I put on the black socks and tugged on my black and white vans. I put on some deodorant, and then put some lotion on my legs and arms. Then as usual, put on a white oversized Sweater that was thin enough that I would feel cool in it on this summer day. It was a zip up so I decided to leave the zipper zipped just above my ribs and below the curve of my breasts.

I took off the towel and quickly dried my hair with the towel, running my fingers through it as the silky strands slowly fell through my fingers. I grabbed the brush and Brushed it thoroughly and was so thankful that my hair didn't need as much attention or products as others. It was either straight or a bit wavy on some days but that was all. I put my clothes in the hamper of the bathroom and grabbed the cellphone.

Debating whether or not to Call Luxord, I decided against it for now. I knew he would want a full explanation and that would probably take much longer, and I really wanted to go downstairs and get this whole test thing and supply run done with.

I put the phone inside the underwear drawer like usual and walked into my bedroom. What did I do know? Should I go downstairs and just see them or should I wait till Cloud came to fetch me? I looked away and took a deep breath. No, I was going to go downstairs and see if he's there. If he's not than… I'll explore my new living arrangements. I opened the door and slowly walked out closing the door quietly behind me.

I stayed there unmoving for a second listening closely to the house. There was no noise, maybe they had left? No, they wouldn't have done that. Or would they? I didn't know them well enough to know what their morning routine was like. Would I ever?

I bit my lip and sighed deciding it was best to forget those thoughts and follow my original plan. My feet slowly made their way down the stairs, through the living room, and into the kitchen. Cloud was seated at the island, his back to me reading a newspaper with what looked like a cup of Juice. Looking like a complete family man, like the common father of the family except he didn't have coffee.

He didn't like coffee? I mused and then noticed what he was wearing. He was dressed rather casually, wearing a short sleeve Green shirt, with Dark jeans, and Green Sneakers. The jeans looked to be designer jeans and I bit my lip as I walked through the door. Ms. Potts turned from her spot in the kitchen and smiled at me.

"Well Good morning dear. I was about to go and fetch you. Would you like some breakfast? I made pancakes earlier but we have yogurt, if you want something small and light." Cloud turned in his seat and I looked down at my feet as he smiled gently.

"Um… Yogurt… I-Is fine." "Of course, Dear." Ms. Potts said as she went over to the fridge. I slowly walked forward and looked at the chairs. Would Cloud be fine if I sat next to him? Or was he still angry about yesterday?

I swallowed and sat next to him. Cloud seemed happy by my choice because he sat up straighter. I suddenly felt the need to apologize and looked over to him. He turned his head towards me and I blushed before clearing my throat. "I…I-I'm sorry…. About my actions…Yesterday." I said slowly trying to keep my voice steady but still stuttering at the beginning. Cloud looked at me surprised but smiled once again.

"Its fine, I should be the one apologizing, I should have known that you weren't ready yet. But I really…" He trailed off looking confused and frustrated, his blonde eyebrows furrowing together. I looked at my hands but was trying my hardest to hear his response, urging him to go on. "Here you go." Ms. Potts said handing me a bowl of white yogurt with what looked to be blueberries, raspberries, and chunks of granola.

I looked up at her and she smiled before continuing to wash the dishes, her eyes looking at Cloud occasionally. Cloud sighed and ran a hand through his blonde spikes. Why wouldn't he say it? Cloud looked over at me as I slowly picked up the spoon and scooped up a small bit of yogurt and a blueberry. I slowly put it in my mouth and once again the food felt foreign to me. When was I going to actually taste food? When was I going to be able to enjoy it?

Cloud tapped his finger on the Island, and I moved my eyes to him. "You don't have to eat all of it, just as much as you can handle alright? Don't push yourself. We have to be at the School by 11, and its 9:55. The school is only ten minutes away so don't worry about taking long. You still have forty minutes."

I nodded my head in understanding and began to slowly eat, timing my bites and just putting a small portion of the yogurt onto the spoon. Maybe if it didn't have as much it wouldn't feel as strange when I put it inside of my mouth. I tried it for a few bites and it worked but after the seventh scoop I could feel my stomach protesting. I put the final spoonful in my mouth before putting the spoon in the plate and staring at the still full bowl. It seemed like I had only eaten about a quarter of it.

"Are you done, dear?" Asked Ms. Potts.

"Y-Yes." I answered and she smiled widely, proud that I was trying to speak more. She cleaned up the plate and cup of Cloud.

"Do you want anything to drink?" She asked and I thought,

"Can I have a water bottle?" I said and my voice was still a whisper but it hadn't stuttered or wavered.

"Of course." She grabbed a cold water bottle and handed it to me.

"There you go."

"Well you ready to go, Claire?" I nodded and we headed to the door. He opened the large glass doors and stepped aside allowing me to walk out first. I suddenly wondered where Sora and Roxas were. That was suddenly answered as I spotted them standing on the sidewalk talking to a girl.

She was shorter than them and had Reddish Brown hair with bright blue eyes and fair skin. She wore a Pink, white, and silver summer dress that stopped right below her knee. She also wore a pair of pink sandals and in her hand was a pink leash that was attached to the collar of a Tiny Yorkie who was sitting next to Pluto.

"Ah, Good morning Kairi." Cloud said, drawing the attention of teen girl who smiled. Great she also had a prefect bleached white smile.

"Good Morning, Cloud." The girl, named Kairi, said waving at him and then eyeing me. She whispered something to Sora who turned and smiled widely at me. "Oh that's Claire she's our… Cousin!"

Kairi nodded and smiled at me, I smiled weakly back at her and walked around to the passenger side of the black mustang which I guessed was Clouds. I climbed inside and Cloud did to after he said something to Sora and Roxas. He started the engine and pulled out, the boys and Kairi waving at us before we left.

The car ride to the school was quiet, but it was a comfortable silence that I enjoyed. When we arrived to the school, I couldn't stop staring at the building. It was enormous with dark gray stone walls and large ancient looking windows. It seemed more like a castle than a high school. The tall stone gate around the school didn't help it either, it made it seem more like a fortress.

The parking lot was on the side of the building and as Cloud and I got out and walked towards the gate, it seemed to captivate me more. In the front there were dozens of red rosebushes around the entrance, the stone steps that went up to the large dark wood main doors were in between two statues. Two lions were sitting on ledges and seemed to be guarding the school. Underneath them, written on a Silver Plaque is the name of the school, Kingdom Hearts Academy High School. The words written in the nicest handwriting I had ever seen, it was better than mine and I had spent years trying to perfect my writing, though I always had trouble with my Z's in handwriting.

"The school, a long time ago used to belong to the man who found this town. Ansem, he lived here and allowed many people, the poor or the homeless to stay with. When he passed he had written a will that he wanted his home to be turned into a school and it has been here for centuries. They just renovated it a couple of years ago to make it more spacious and accommodating for the students and teachers."

Cloud explained almost as If he had read my thoughts, making me redden. He smiled warmly at me before opening one of the doors for me. I walked through and had to stop my mouth from falling open. This was the nicest school I had ever seen. The walls were intricately painted and the floor was made of sleek dark wood. The library was to the left and from where I was standing I could see that it was Gigantic. To the right was the computer room, a Damn Computer Room! In my old school they hadn't even had a library or Computer room. They didn't trust us with that!

"Come on." Cloud ushered me towards the hallway that split either left or right. But in front of us was the office that was just as elegant. A light brown haired woman was at the front desk, her eyes a light shade of green and light skinned with a hint of copper to her skin tone. She spotted Cloud and smiled her smile nice and caring.

"Oh hello Cloud, How are you?" She asked warmly her voice so soft that it seemed to flutter away in the room.

"I am fine Aerith, and yourself?" Cloud said politely and the woman nodded, clearly pleased by the response.

"I am good, just busy with getting everything ready for the school year. So how can I help you today?"

"I had an appointment for my niece to take an entrance test today, to see where she will be placed."

"Oh!" Aerith said surprised as she looked at me. Something about this woman made her somewhat familiar to me. It was on the tip of my tongue but I wasn't sure where I had seen her. Something about that hair and the shape of her eyes, just reminded me of someone. But who?

"Well, let me go ahead and tell Principle Mickey that she is here and see which class she will be taking the test in. Please take a seat." Cloud nodded and walked over to one of the comfortable looking dark brown chairs. We sat down and I watched as she left knocking on a door and entering.

"That's Sora's mom." Cloud said and I blinked at him. Sora! That was who she reminded me of. But wait, if that was Sora's mom did that mean…

"Leon and Her dated for some time. Then when Leon was going to end things with her after finding out he was gay she found out she was pregnant. Leon stuck with her for two years before Aerith ended things with him. She's a nice woman and knew that he was interested in the same sex. She decided to move to Hollow Bastion but after a week she decided to give full custody of Sora to him. It was difficult but Sora had always been closer to Leon. Leon may seem like a rude and emotionless person but when it comes to his family he opens up and wears his heart on his sleeve. Sora knows that Aerith is his mother but the Mother and Son connection isn't really there anymore."

I listened to this carefully and nodded, suddenly wondering why Cloud had told me this.

"Ah so this must be Ms. Claire Strife." Said a voice ending with a laugh. I turned my head to look at the man in front of me and noticed one thing.

He was very very short.

The man was so short that he barely came up to my shoulder. He had his black hair slicked back and wore a pair of rather large glasses that covered up most of his face. He wore a Black suite with Red Tie and white undershirt. He smiled at us,

"Well! Let me be the first to welcome you to Kingdom Hearts Academy! The home of the Great Lions!" He put his hands in the form of Claws.

"Now you will be taking the test since many of our teachers are setting up the office. Once you're done we will scan it and give you your schedule which the computer will assign you depending on your score. Are you ready?"

I nodded and Principle Mickey smiled and walked over to his office. I was about to walk after him when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I froze and tensed out of habit and the arm disappeared. I turned and saw Cloud looking apologetically,

"I'm sorry; I was just going to wish you good luck." I reddened and nodded.

"T-Thank you." I whispered before speed walking over to Principle Mickey who was waiting patiently against his office door. He opened the door and I walked through, Mickey closing the door behind us.

The test was pretty easy and that's what I had feared. If the test was easy that might mean that I was getting the answers wrong. I went over them about three times before reluctantly keeping my answer the same. It was two different sections one section was a mix of English, History, and some other minor things like Spanish and even French. I had no idea what I was doing on the French part but on the Spanish I was doing pretty well since I had taken it for two years at my old school. Plus, our neighbor Ms. Rodriguez helped me with it, well when she wasn't going to the hospital because of her declining health. The next section was Math and Science which the first few pages were easy but then began to increase in difficulty.

I finished about two and a half hours later. When I finished I handed my bubble sheet to Mr. Mickey who took it and walked out of the office. I walked out as well and went towards where Cloud was. He seemed to be having a heated argument over the phone. When he spotted me his lips formed into a small smile before frowning again. "Look I don't have time to deal with this alright?" He said coldly catching me off guard since I had never heard him speak to anyone that way.

"I will talk to you later." He hung up not waiting for a response and walked over to me carrying a pair of white button up shirts. "Which size do you think would fit you?" He said and lifted them. I looked at the both of them and noticed that the one on the left was much smaller and would probably fit me a bit tight. But it would give me a bit more curves. The one on the right was a bit looser and would still fit me right but wouldn't cling to me like the other.

"I can buy you two of each, would you like that?" He stared at me and I bit my lip running my hand through my hair. "It's… fine i-if you buy me the one on the right." I whispered looking at my shoes. Cloud chuckled and I looked up. Cloud looked at Aerith and smiled at her. "I'll take two smalls and two mediums." "Cloud-" "She isn't going to ask me for anything. I might as well buy her two of each." Aerith shook her head but took the two shirts which were probably sample shirts and walked off. Mickey returned with a large smile on his face and walked over to Cloud.

"Well Mr. Strife, it seems you have quite a smart one on your hands." He said holding up a paper. "She is advanced for her class, and she will have quite a demanding schedule but I have high hopes for her." He hands the schedule to Cloud who takes it. His eyes go down the schedule and his smile grows as he reads each class. He looks up and smiles at me, a strange emotion on his face. Maybe it's pride?

I bite my lip and take the paper once he extends it to me. I look at the list and read the classes:

AP Spanish Literature 3, Teacher: Demyx

Honors Pre-Calculus, Teacher: Xemnas

AP English Literature/ Creative Writing, Teacher: Zexion

AP Chemistry: Saix

AP US History, Teacher: Aqua

Physical Education, Teacher: Cid

Homeroom, Teacher: Terra

Wow. I don't know why but I am extremely surprised by the classes. I knew I had paid attention in my old classes but I never thought this would be the outcome. I look up and smile gently which makes both men smile even wider.

Cloud talks to Mickey for a few more minutes before he picks up Sora and Roxas's class schedules. Than after saying goodbye and heading out of the building Cloud tells me that we are going to go to a large Store Called Donald's Mini Mall. Know this mini mall that Cloud is telling me isn't a Swap Meet or a Mall but a store that is similar to Target or Wal-Mart. It has Clothing, Electronics, Shoes, and many other items. The only difference is that they actually have sections of those items and they are actually high quality items.

When we arrive and enter the building, I realize that it is humongous. Cloud leads me to the Shoes section first. He shoes me the sneakers, Sandals, and boots. I look around them but all I can notice are the prices which are completely outrageous. But somehow Cloud successfully convinces me and he buys me two pair of Shoes from the section. A pair of Black Combat boots and some White Sandals, which are simple and are the cheapest in the whole store only costing about twenty dollars which to me is still expensive.

The next section is Clothing where he once again convinces me and buys me two pairs of shorts, a pair of Jean shorts and some dark brown shorts which are a bit too small for my taste but I know he won't listen to me. So why try? He also buys me a couple of shirts which I continue to protest especially since he nearly clears out a whole shelf. When Cloud goes to talk to a woman who is stocking one of the shelves I put a handful of them back without him realizing it.

"Claire, this is Daisy, she is married to Donald. The owner of this store. She will show you the rest of the store while I go and get some things at the Electronic section. We'll meet up there. Please, buy whatever you need okay? And just to let you know Daisy here is much more stubborn than I am."

And I believe him. This lady is short and a bit chubby but you can tell by her face that she isn't one to be messed with. She smiles at me and she pays with Cloud's card. Why does she have it? I wonder but don't have time because she hands me the bag of our newest shopping additions and we are heading to another section which makes me blush.

It's the bra and underwear section. "What's your size dear?" She asks and I know she is referring to my bra and underwear size.

"I-I'm a small in Underwear…. And a… 32C in bra." I whisper embarrassedly. She nods and walks confidently to a section on the other side before searching through the array of items. She gets at least eight bras all different designs, some with solid colors, others with lace and others with designs on them. She gets matching underwear and puts them on the counter with the cash register.

"Do you need socks?" She asks looking at me with a raised brow. I shake my head and she looks at me intensely making me look down. "You need more." She mumbles and grabs a pack tossing it onto the counter.

She hands me the bag which isn't really heavy and we walk to the next section which is toiletries. Daisy seems to almost have gotten the hang of my tastes because she grabs the same brand of Shampoo and Conditioner that was in my room and I had liked. She gets a pack of three Deodorants and uncaps one, extending it out to me.

I sniff it and it smells…tropical but it isn't strong as the other. I shrug and she grabs another pack of three, uncaps, and extends. I smell this one and it isn't strong and smells of Flowers and Pomegranate. I nod and she moves on to the next which is the Lotion. She chooses a Vanilla one and Pomegranate Strawberry Lotion. She disappears for a second and returns with a basket as well as a box of toothpaste, bottle of mouthwash, razors, and some shaving cream.

Did girls use shaving cream?

We move on and then Daisy makes me blush again as she holds out two boxes of Feminine products. "Do you use Pads or Tampons?"

I blush at the way she says it with such a neutral voice and expressionless face. "Pads."

"Overnight, Long, Medium, or small?"

"Umm… Long?" I say and she nods grabbing two boxes of thirty two pads and putting them inside the basket. She then goes to the Cashier of that section and buys the items. She holds that bag and then we make our way to the Electronic section where Cloud is standing looking at some of the Laptops. He is carrying two other bags that seem to be filled with school supplies. He turns and spots me, "Claire what's your favorite color?" He asks and I am confused.

"Um…. White?" I say confused. Cloud nods and points at one of the Laptops. The man behind the counter nods and picks up a box from behind the counter and places it gently and softly on the counter. Cloud then points to something else and the man nods before getting a much smaller box and puts it right on top of the Laptop.

Who was he buying that for? Why did he ask me what my favorite color was?

Cloud buys a cover for a phone, a white one and then pays with another card. That's when I realize who he bought it for. "Cloud-" I start but Cloud just brushes me off and a wave of anger goes through me. "Cloud." I say much more firmly and he turns raising an eyebrow at me.

"I don't want you to buy me the Laptop and Phone." I say coldly and even the cashier and Daisy look at me with wide eyes. Cloud smiles and crosses his arms over his chest.

"Well you're a bit too late, after all I just paid for it didn't I? And also you should have thought of that before you told me your favorite color. Now come on we'll be late for lunch."

He grabs the Laptop and phone holding it securely with both hands and walks past me, a cocky smile on his face. I glare at him as he leaves and take the bag from Daisy before stalking after him. Feeling the anger bubbling inside of me, but hidden underneath is another feeling that I have never felt before. A feeling that overwhelms the anger and wants to make me smile. The feeling of being cared for.

_**(Oh Cloud why must you be so tricky! Well Claire is starting to feel Cared for, Aww! But what is up with the nightmare? Stick around and you'll find out! And also thanks to everyone who reviewed it means a lot! Reviewing is like giving me a chocolate chip cookie or an Oreo Cakester or Goldfish! Lol! Well see you guy's next chapter Review and Follow!)**_


	4. Relapse

_**Disclaimer: I do not own this, all rights go to their respective parties.**_

_**Summary: Claire Lightning Strife is sent to live with her uncle Cloud after her mother is murdered. She is forced to pack up her minimum belongings and move from Oblivion District to the richest and most luxurious part of Twilight Town, Radiant garden. Where she realizes how different her mother and Cloud's lives truly are. Then there is also the rising concern of Larxene's killer. Who is he? Why did he kill Larxene? These are all Question's she asks herself. But most importantly. Will she be next? **_

_**Pairings: Luxord/Lightning/Zack, Cloud/Leon. Axel/Roxas, and Sora/Riku.**_

_**A/N: This story will contain drug usage and other graphic content such as self harm. It will also contain some mature and dark themes that will be occuring in this chapter and will continue to come up or be mentioned in future chapters. You have been warned.**_

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A few days had passed, and it seemed that the longer I spent in the Strife-Leonheart household the more I opened up. It wasn't drastic, I still rarely spoke but I was more focused on conversations. I had even smiled genuinely yesterday. I had tried fighting it but you try to not smile when Sora falls down the stairs after trying to ride down the rail.

I still had my moments but I was slowly able to get over them, but not on my own. Leon, Cloud, and Luxord were helping me, each in their own way.

Leon, who had been the one to surprise me the most, would find small ways to get me out of my room. Occasionally asking me to do small things here and there, ranging from giving something Cloud or even feeding Pluto. He was using the technique of messenger as a way for me to become more comfortable in their home and get more accustomed to it.

At first I had done the things with a bit of spite and attitude but after some time I came to anticipate them. Because after I would do those minor little errands, Leon would let me borrow a book from his Library. Of course Cloud had already given me permission to enter it; But Leon had a way of choosing books that I really liked. And I didn't even care that I sounded like a Nerd or a Bookworm.

Those books were just so gripping that I couldn't stop reading them. I had probably read more books in the past four days than in my whole life. Exactly six, but those books helped me more than entertainment. I would read them so I could sleep, and they would keep my mind busy, enough that the nightmares wouldn't come back. The most common one being the one where… the one where she was lying in the water, wrapped around the white sheet.

Cloud on the other hand would constantly drag me out with him to do errands. Now that had irritated me on more than one occasion and it seemed that he took enjoyment out of it because he would just smile cockily and then usher me to his car to go drop off some paper work or just to go pick something up at the local store.

His method was what i liked to call, annoy and then make happy method. But I had noticed that whenever he would take me out to go do an errand, when we would get home the frustrated and almost pained expression would return. The same expression that would usually cross his face when he would try to explain why he had taken me in or why he wanted me to so badly speak to him. He never was able to; he would try but then would just sigh and walk off leaving me confused. I didn't know why but in the pit of my stomach, I knew this reason had something to do with Larxene.

Last but not Least, Luxord had gone for the listening and question method. This method was the one I enjoyed most but was the one that made me feel most weak, most vulnerable. I had never been one to open up and let people in, but with Luxord it seemed easy. It just seemed that the more I opened up the more that the warmth grew in the pit of my stomach. The feeling coursing through my whole body and making me feel so…. So whole that I never wanted to stop talking to him.

I knew he felt the same way because one of the traits that I appreciated the most from Luxord was his blunt and almost brutal honesty. He would tell me what he thought no matter if he hurt my feelings and sometimes I hated him for it but I knew that if he didn't tell me than no one did. The most talked about topic between him and I was the fact that I wanted to desperately let Cloud, Leon, Sora, and Roxas in.

But each time I tried I would be filled with doubts and would change the subject or concentrate on something else. It angered myself and filled me with such Self-Hatred that I had almost… I had almost returned to my old ways. Luxord was yet to hear about my almost relapse after all he had been the one to stop it.

He had found me in the dingy apartment with a towel around my wrist and had put the puzzle pieces together. To say he was pissed was an understatement. He had completely lost it, cursing himself for what I had done. He disappeared and didn't return till two days later, with a cut on his lip and a black eye. He never told me what happened… And to be completely honest I didn't really wanna know. The only thing that held me back from asking was Fear. Fear as to who had hit him and fear of what HE had done to that individual.

Roxas and Sora also helped but were more reserved which I was grateful. Sora would invite me to play with him videogames and Roxas would join us. I realized that Sora and Roxas were both pretty funny making me smile constantly when I was around them. Sora was funny because of his hyper almost constant moments and his innocence on some matters, but Roxas, Oh Roxas was so sarcastic.

He was so serious when he would say something that you actually had to take a moment and think it over to figure out what he meant, but when you did. You would die of laughter. His brain was magical and I often times wondered how he had gotten to that point.

When you put Sora and Roxas together, it was like a funny overload. Sora didn't really look into things with depth and he didn't understand his brother's sarcastic remarks. This made it even funnier because usually they involved him and he would just sit there wondering why we were laughing. His huge blue eyes watching us with such confusion that I almost felt guilty for finding humor in such mentioned innocence.

Then we had Ms. Potts. Ms. Potts was such a nice person, too nice actually. She worried so much about me to the point where it was almost uncomfortable. Like a mother hen looking after her injured chick, and to some degree that was true. I was somewhat injured but she went to almost unbelievable extents to make me more comfortable around them. She had even started making two different food dishes trying to get me to eat more.

Which to some degree worked because not only was the food delicious but the guilt of seeing all that food go to waste started making my stomach work with me. I could know finish half of my food which wasn't as much as I wanted but it was a great achievement. I would make up for not eating my food by helping her clean the kitchen and letting her talk to me about random things. Something that she seemed to enjoy since she probably never had someone that just listened. She talked about her one and only son Michael and her grandson Chip, and how she was excited to be seeing them this Thanksgiving.

Today, though she didn't seem to be in a talkative mood and I could understand her because tomorrow it seemed that everyone would be going back to their normal lives. Cloud would be returning to being a therapist, Leon would go back to his Police Officer duties, and Roxas and Sora would return to school.

Me? I would be starting a new life and the thought terrified me. I wasn't ready to give up my old one and even though I had made a few baby steps in an attempt to become accustomed to this new one. I wasn't ready at all. The nervousness in my stomach seemed to grow stronger and stronger the closer we got and even today in the morning it had taken me longer to roll out of bed. Luxord had tried to calm me down but it had only worked for a little while before I began to panic again.

Now here I was standing in front of the sink washing the dirty dishes of Lunch while Ms. Potts was in the Pantry writing a list of some of the ingredients and other kitchen items she would need for the week ahead. She was murmuring to herself while I stared a bit too focused on the last plate I was washing, trying to stretch out the time. I was scrubbing the side of the plate with such intensity and concentration that I didn't realize Leon had walked into the kitchen. I only noticed him when he pulled a strand of my hair, a habit of his, to get my attention. I turned and looked at him over my shoulder and noticed him rubbing the side of his mouth, a habit of his as well that he used to hide his smiles.

"Scrub any harder and there won't be any plate to wash." He mumbled watching me with his intense eyes that always made me feel vulnerable. I looked back at the plate and washed away the suds and put the plate on the dish rack before grabbing a paper towel and wiping away the excess water on my hands. I cleaned them a bit too long as well and then threw it away before leaning against the island, looking at my sneakers.

I was wearing one of Luxord's Huge Hoody's, a simple Gray one that stopped a bit above my thighs. A pair of my jeans and my Vans, just choosing something comfortable for today. Leon walked over to where I was and leaned beside me, watching me for a few seconds before speaking. "Do you wanna talk about it?" He said and I looked up at him.

It was so strange how it seemed that Cloud could read my thoughts but Leon could pick up on any change of my emotions. I would never tell them this but I actually appreciated that about them. Leon smiled gently at me and ran a hand through his hair before crossing his arms over his chest, his arms visible since he wore a Tank top.

I wanted to tell him but the words wouldn't come out, this was what angered me and made me doubt myself. The fact that no matter what I could never get as Close as I wanted to, to them. No matter what I tried my mind and I guess even my body would stop me. Was it a defense mechanism or was it just my stubbornness and pride that would stop me? I looked down again.

"Kid?" I look up and Leon was giving me a small smile, a smile that I had only seen him give to Roxas, Sora, or Cloud. A smile that he often reserved for his family. "I know you're nervous, about tomorrow. But I want you to know something, you going to that school or living here. It won't change you, you are you. You understand?"

I smiled gently at him and I could feel some tears welling in my eyes. He had understood what I had wanted to say and I felt a sense of relief. I could only nod but I could feel something bothering me. I didn't feel completely relieved yet and I couldn't understand this foreign feeling. What was bothering me know? Didn't I just get what I wanted? Suddenly Leon's arm wraps around my shoulder and pulls me in for an awkward one arm hug. The movement makes my eyes widen as I realize that the bothering feeling has disappeared. Leon releases me and looks away as he reddens.

"If you tell Cloud or anyone else that I gave you a hug, I will personally lock you out of my library." He grumbles and I can't help but smile.

"Okay." I whisper rubbing the back of my neck. He nods and begins to walk out before I call to him.

"Umm… Leon?" He turns raising an eyebrow at me and I look down before, taking a breath and looking up to look directly in his eyes.

"Thank You." The side of his mouth lifts slightly before nodding,

"Welcome." He grunts and walks out of the kitchen. Ms. Potts walks out of the Pantry a smile on her face and I know she witnesses the small act of kindness from Leon. She looks over at the sink and smiles wider.

"Oh you finished already?"

I nod and she smiles, "Well I think that's all I need. I'm going to go to the store."

"Do… Do you need me to go?" I mumble and she shakes her head. "Oh no it's fine dear why don't you go on and enjoy your last day of summer vacation. You are going to miss not having school."

I nod smiling gently, pick up the newest book I got from Leon which I left on the kitchen table, and walk out of the Kitchen. I go up the stairs and notice that Sora and Roxas are in the guy living room. Sora is sitting on the couch while Roxas is turning on one of the Gaming Consoles grabbing two of the four controllers. Roxas spots me and smiles, still a bit shy but more friendly,

"Feel like watching me kick Sora's butt at Video Games?" I nod and walk over to the living room sitting down on the couch to the left of the main one, the one that they are sitting on. I put the book on my lap and Look at the screen.

"Know that Claire has sat down and gotten comfortable, I can finally start kicking your butt Roxas." Sora says doing a hero pose on the couch which makes Roxas roll his eyes. "Yeah, Yeah, whatever."

The game screen comes up on the TV and it instantly grabbed my attention. It was a Football video game, as in American football. I felt a little ball of joy rise in my throat as I sat up and looked at the TV with a new sense of interest. Luxord had forced some of the local guys to let me play, and had taught me. I was pretty good catcher, or what was it called, A running back? The small movement didn't go unnoticed, Roxas saw.

"You like football, Claire?" He asked surprised and I blushed nodding.

"You ever play it before, like ya know real?" Sora said and Roxas slowly looked at him. "Sora…. Really?"

Sora blushed and just shrugged before pressing a few buttons on the controller and going to the Team Selection. "So have you?" Roxas asked as he chose his team, glancing over at me before looking back at the screen.

"Y-Yeah… with a friend." I mumbled biting my nail. Why did I feel weird about letting them know about Luxord? Why did I feel this sense of nervousness whenever Luxord's name was going to come up? This had happened on more than one occasion, whenever his name would come up.

Like When Cloud had asked me about the clothing I wore I had felt the same way and said once again a friend and then Leon had asked me about the guy that had brought me into the police department and I had repeated the same response. A friend. No more information or details, not his name or how we met, nothing. All I said was that he was a friend.

I didn't understand why I felt the urge to keep him a secret, but I brushed it off as I continued to watch Sora and Roxas start the game. "You know there's a football team at the high school." Roxas trailed off as the game was about to start, showing the characters getting ready.

"Yeah! Roxas's best friend Axel and My best friend Riku are part of the team. But two of their players graduated last year so they need to fill in their spots."

I noticed that when Sora said Axel, Roxas flushed a bit. Why would he flush? I was focusing on that strange reaction that I hadn't realized that Roxas and Sora were silent. That was unusual for them since they usually teased or taunted each other. Then I finally noticed the looks on both of the boy's faces as their eyes flickered from the screen to me.

It didn't take long for me to understand why they had brought it up. "It's a guy team, yeah but I'm sure that if you were good enough, they would bend the rules…"

"You haven't seen me play." I whispered looking at my palms.

"Yeah I know we haven't but try outs are always three weeks after school starts in order to start getting everyone ready and used to the others. So… Just in case." Roxas shrugs and I am suddenly confused why the two people who are usually quiet and emotionless are being so nice to me. Even Sora stares at his brother, which is a mistake because Roxas scores a touchdown. He doesn't seem to mind it because he shrugs and looks over at me.

"Yeah! You should try it out! Roxas is in Cross Country he can help you with your running! Then I can ask Riku and Axel to help you with the rest. Maybe even see if Snow will help you out."

Snow? Who was Snow?

"Snows the team Captain! He's a senior like us, and he's been captain since sophomore year. He's tried to get a championship but we always end up short. Last year we got to the finals and lost by one damn touch down! Against the Hollow Bastion Sharks."

Sora said growling as he said their name. Ahh… so they were our high schools rivals. Our? Was I now saying Our High School's rivals? This thought irked me for some reason, but then Leon's words echoed in my head.

"It won't change you, you are you."

He was right I was myself and just because I had been placed somewhere else didn't mean that I was forced to change. Just because I got these opportunities that many individuals often wanted but could get, I wasn't going to change. Sure, I would value all this, Like Luxord said. I would try my best to not let it go to waste but that didn't mean I had to turn into some preppy rich snobbish girl. I had my roots, and they were started at Oblivion District.

I had many experiences, more bad than good but each one of those experiences had an effect on who I was. On who I would become in the future. A future that for me, was still a bit blurry and unclear.

"Hey, You alright? You got Quiet." I looked up and smiled at the scene in front of me. Sora was watching me; Roxas was leaned a bit over in order to see me clearly, and behind Roxas was Pluto who had his neck stretched out to look at me with his brown eyes. His tongue rolling out of the side as usual and his eyes moving from them to me.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You wanna play?" Sora said, and I smirked. "Nope, Roxas is kicking your butt….I'm enjoying it."

Sora gets red and glares at Roxas who is chuckling. "Stop laughing! Your hurting my feelings!" He said pouting and Roxas chuckles a bit before leaning back.

"Your feelings? Wanna draw me a picture?" I smile as Sora glares at him.

"You know what! Screw you Roxas you and your team are going down! You can't touch my art skills!"

"Your right I can't because they aren't there to touch."

Sora pushes his brother and Roxas pushes him back before they both laugh and continue to play. They play for a couple of hours and soon enough, it starts to get dark outside. Sora and Roxas turn off console just as Cloud yells from the Kitchen. "Dinner!"

We head downstairs, me trailing behind them and as we enter the kitchen both Roxas and Sora yell simultaneously, "Zack!" They run in and hug a tall man.

This man is probably around Leon's height, which is 6'4… I know because Leon told me. He has Black spikey hair and fair skin. His eyes are a clear blue and I start to wonder, why does everyone have blue eyes?

He has a dazzling smile and is wearing a Black T-shirt, Baggy jeans, and Black sneakers. His arms are covered in Tattoos that seem to connect at his back. They have random designs; I can easily spot a skull, a demon, a rose, and even a cross with the name of someone underneath. He has so many pictures but they all seem to fit one with the other. He also has two black stud earrings in each ear and suddenly I get a picture of Luxord and his pierced ears.

"Hey there Kiddos!" He says with such a carefree and friendly tone that I know he can't be older than 21. He ruffles their hair and suddenly I am drawn out of my examination of this man named Zack by Ms. Potts.

"Claire can you help me set this on the table." I quickly nod and make my way over to her. Taking the large pan of homemade pizza and turning nearly dropping it as Zack stands in front of me. His deep blue eyes, darker than Leon's are watching me with an intense interest.

"I've never seen you before. You Cloud's newest House Keeper or what?" He says crossing his arms and watching me. I feel myself redden and shake my head, No. "Huh? Hey Cloud! Who's the Bubblegum Chick!?"

Bubblegum Chick? Is that really what this dumbass called me? I glare at him as he turns, Roxas and Sora watching him with wide eyes as he makes his way past them and into the Dining room. I bite my lip feeling embarrassed and walk over to the table and put it down next to the salad. Cloud walks in with Leon and Zack. Roxas pulls out my chair and tells me to sit. I do and notice that Roxas sits next to me and Sora sits in front of me.

What were they doing? Roxas looks at his plate and Sora begins to fidget with his fingers. I raise my eyebrow and look at the two of them but they don't seem to pay attention to me. It seems that they're too busy focusing on Zack who seems to be speaking in hushed tones with Leon and Cloud. When they sit down, Zack sits down next to Roxas, Cloud and Leon sit at their usual spot at the ends.

"So this is the Orphan?" My blood freezes and I look down at my plate. Sora tenses in front of me and Roxas clenches his fist but still continues to glare at the plate. The whole room is filled with a sudden awkward and very heavy silence.

"Zack-" Cloud starts and Zack stares at him. "What it's true ain't it? She's the daughter of that one blonde chick we found did at that Trashed Apartment. The one with the galloons of blood."

Trashed Apartment? Galloons of blood? Leon had told me that he hadn't gotten any new information. Hell! He hadn't even told me where they had found her. All he had told me was that it had been in some place that he didn't have the details. Then why did this guy have the details when Leon was supposed to be on a higher rank than this Zack guy?

Did Leon not trust me with the details, did the hug mean nothing? Why wasn't he telling me! My mind was running a thousand miles per hour and I concentrated harder on the plate. Thoughts began to fill my mind, negative thoughts that began to make my skin itch. A familiar itch that I had tried so hard to avoid but seemed to rise again.

They didn't trust me; I wasn't anything but the black sheep. The past few days in which they had made me feel like I was cared for and actually had a spot in this household was a lie. I was actually getting used to living here and know the rug was being ripped out from under me.

"Zack." Leon said menacingly glaring at the man, who seemed to ignore them.

"What? Wait you haven't told her anything? Aw Come on Leon. You're telling me you've had this Bubblegum Princess living here and you haven't told her that one of the suspects is her pimp? You haven't told her that she's a prostitutes daughter that got killed cause she couldn't give it up to enough customers and her drug debt got way to high that she got killed for it? Or maybe you haven't told her that Larxene was willing to give up her own daughter, give her to the pimp for a one night stand to get some new drugs?"

"Zack! Shut the fuck up!" Snarled Cloud glaring at the man who was staring directly at me. I stared at my palms and could feel the itch spreading to my body, the stinging at my eyes, and my stomach clenching. My breathing was becoming more rapid and I could feel my vision go blurry.

"Claire-" Leon said gently extending his hand out to me but I recoiled staring at his hand with such disgust and betrayal that I didn't even care when I could see the hurt in his eyes. He had hurt me! Did I not matter?!

I stood up, the chair screeching in protest and ran. I ignored the calls that I was getting from the kitchen, ignored everything and giving in to the pain that seemed to slice through my heart. I threw open my door and slammed it closed locking it.

I knew what I was going to do. The only thing I could do in order to get rid of this pain, get rid of this feeling that seemed to clench around my body and suffocate everything. I walked determinedly to the bathroom closed the door and locked it as well. Before searching through the drawers, I found what I was searching for and stared at the glistening silver metal.

The tears began to fall down my cheeks and I couldn't stop them as I sat down on the floor of the toilet. I grabbed the blade tightly between my finger and lifted the sleeve of my Hoody. I put the blade to one of the old cuts and slowly put it down.

I slid the blade across, and welcomed the familiar stinging, feeling a sense of relief starting from the pit of my stomach and rising through my body. This I could control. This pain I welcomed.

I sliced again and stared at the Crimson liquid as it began to rise to the surface, was this what the room looked like. Covered in this liquid?

I cut again and shut my eyes tightly; she was going to give me to her pimp. Give me up, her virgin daughter so the Pimp could clear off her debt and let her get more drugs. My Mother was going to do that because she was selfish.

I continued to cut until almost my whole arm was covered in blood, the blood sliding down my arm and falling onto the fabric of my hoody and all I could do was cry as I sat there. This was what always happened. I would try to be happy, try to enjoy my life for one second and then. Then I would end up a heaping pile of worthless shit.

A waste of space that should be rid of, but I couldn't. I was too much of a coward. A cowardly girl that the only thing she could do was cut herself and watch the blood drip. Drip onto the floor and stain the floor, a floor that cost more than my life.

I was nothing, I didn't fit in here and as I clutched my wrist to my chest not caring that the blood was staining the Hoody I knew that the quicker I realized that. The quicker I would realize that no one gave a damn about me.

And no one would, not even my own family.

_**(…. Whelp! There it is…. Yeah…. You guys can blame my mood to listening to Evanescence, Snow Patrol, He is we, and finally My Chemical Romance specifically Ghost of you. So anyways! Review and Follow… Yeah I don't know what else to say after this. )**_


	5. First Day of School

_**Disclaimer: I do not own this, all rights go to their respective parties.**_

_**Summary: Claire Lightning Strife is sent to live with her uncle Cloud after her mother is murdered. She is forced to pack up her minimum belongings and move from Oblivion District to the richest and most luxurious part of Twilight Town, Radiant garden. Where she realizes how different her mother and Cloud's lives truly are. Then there is also the rising concern of Larxene's killer. Who is he? Why did he kill Larxene? These are all Question's she asks herself. But most importantly. Will she be next? **_

_**Pairings: Luxord/Lightning/Zack, Cloud/Leon. Axel/Roxas, and Sora/Riku.**_

_**A/N: This story will contain drug usage and other graphic content such as self harm. It will also contain some mature and dark themes that will be occuring in this chapter and will continue to come up or be mentioned in future chapters. You have been warned.**_

* * *

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

I groan and open one eye, glaring at the numbers that read 6:15 am. Who the hell created school? And who the hell thought it was a good idea to wake up growing teenagers at these hours of the morning? And was it too early in the year to say that I already hate waking up this early?

After cursing School for a couple more minutes, knowing it isn't going to serve me any good, I sigh and stretch my hand out to tap the off button. But recoil, as I hiss at the wave of pain that rolls through my arm. I clutch it in my other hand and place it on my chest, staring at the wrapped up arm. I can see hints of dried blood; I must have bled a bit more last night and hadn't felt it. Then the spot of red gets a bit bigger and I know I must have reopened the cuts.

Damn… The beeping of the alarm seems to grow louder and louder until it becomes too much to ignore. Leaning over, I turn off the alarm clock, its beeps irritating and annoying me.

I kick off the green sheets, stretch for a few seconds, and after rubbing my eyes for the third time get up. I run a hand through my hair and walk towards my closet. I open my underwear drawer and after searching around grab a matching pair of Bra and Boy shorts underwear. I glance at the blue phone and a blue light catches my attention. My hand itches to grab it but I know that if I were to text him back a reply he would call me. And I need to be dressed before I can even talk to him because that is going to be a rather long conversation.

Well it wouldn't be long if I don't mention my relapse…. I shake my head and close the drawer ignoring the phone. I go into the bathroom and after taking off my Basketball shorts, socks, and baggy T-shirt begin the slow process of unraveling the gauze on my arm.

Gauze that I had found in a First Aid Kit underneath the sink, Thank you to whoever put it there, as well as a couple of Large Band Aids, some disinfectant wipes, and other necessary items for wounds or cuts in my case.

I slowly remove it and place the dirtied fabric on the counter and stare at my, 'Battle Scars'. There are seven rather long cuts on my arm, dried and fresh blood on the surface and the cuts just barely scabbing over. They still seemed fresh and I stare at them, wondering how in the hell am I going to cover them up.

Why was I saying Hell so much? 'Probably cause that's where you are going to end up', says a voice in my head making me flinch and drop my hand. The wounds stinging as they hit my hip still covered in some underwear. I remove the rest of my clothing which is my Underwear and adjust the water to be a bit on the cold side so it would wake me up. And as a bonus it calms the urge to scratch and the stinging a bit.

But I knew I deserved the pain. And the pain seemed to keep my thoughts away from everything that had been said before. The new knowledge, the new information I had not only learned about… Larxene's lifestyle but also her murder. I swat away the feelings and concentrate on the details. So she was found in that apartment. The one I saw in my dream, but how did my mind know how it looked like.

Had I been there before? Maybe when I was younger?

Maybe Larxene had taken me once to pick up her substance? Or maybe it had just been a lucky break?

I shake my head at the last one as I rinsed out the conditioner from my hair. It couldn't have been a lucky break or a bit of luck because how could I have imagined all of that without anything to back it up? It was just too strange and too deep to think about when I had only been up for a couple of minutes.

After washing my body, I turn off the water, wrap the towel around my body, and begin the process of getting ready. I dry off the water from my skin using the blanket like towel, and then begin to hand dry my hair. After that I slip on my bra and underwear, just a simple Black pair that I had before I had moved here, and begin to apply some of the pomegranate and strawberry lotion. I make sure to put the lotion on my legs, thighs, stomach, arms slowly applying it over my cuts wincing as they sting, and chest. I hated when my skin looked ashy, it just made me look paler than I really was.

I debate whether to wrap a towel around me, but decide against it since the door to my room is locked and walk out. I go into my closet and begin to search through my drawers making sure to not brush anything against my 'injured' arm. I needed to find something long but also something dark enough so that whatever I use to cover it up won't be visible. After much search I find a Black Long sleeve that seems a bit more girlish and I notice a tag on it.

It must have been from the shopping trip with Cloud… I shake that thought and quickly rip off the tag. I grab the white school shirt, one of the mediums that will fit me loose, and a pair of my jeans, socks, and the black combat boots. I walk back into the bathroom and put on the socks firs, a simple black pair that stops at my ankles.

After that I tug on my jeans which are a pair of blue jeans that are from my favorite, but kind of expensive brand, called Hammer. They fit me tight, hugging each curve but fitting quite comfortably. I then tug on my boots and after spending at least five minutes on trying to tie the dumb laces they are on. I look in the mirror and take in my bottom half which looks pretty good.

I grab the first aid kit and grab two of the Large Band Aids. After maneuvering them around, I finally get them into a position where they can cover up the cuts entirely. Then just in case, I wrap the gauze around them and after making sure it won't come off, grab my deodorant and put it on my armpits. I then put on the Long sleeve shirt, taking precaution as to not get the deodorant on it.

After putting it on I notice how… tight it really is, and the fact that it has a V-neckline. It doesn't really show anything, just a small bit of flesh, nothing to worry about. Then there is the fact that the shirt fits me pretty long, stopping at least three inches below my waist, but that doesn't stop it from hugging everything tightly. The sleeves even fit tightly around my arms but also are a bit too long. I fold the sleeve once and the push it back a bit and then, Poof! It looks good and even hides the fact that I am wearing the band aids underneath, since I scrunched it up.

I then put the School shirt over it and button up the shirt leaving the top two buttons undone. When I leave the top two buttons undone, it shows the neckline but seems to almost compliment it. I then run a brush through my hair and arrange it in a way that the short strands of my hair, the ones that are around my face stay at the front. Then the rest lays on the left, the pink waves laying on the white of the shirt and stopping right above where the arm sleeve starts.

I grab my toothbrush and put some minty green toothpaste. I began to slowly brush making sure to get each and every inch of my mouth. Ridding myself of that nasty morning breath. After wasting about two or three minutes I spit out the foam into the sink and get some water to rinse. I then grab the Blue mouthwash and swirl it around my mouth before spitting that out as well. I then wash my brush and put it in its spot on the side of the sink.

I look in the mirror and decide that I look pretty good in the uniform. After making sure once again that the Gauze isn't going to come off I walk out of the bathroom and grab my new backpack that… Cloud had bought. It was rather simple, just a Khaki messenger bag, that on the front of the opening flap had a Panda standing up with scratches and bites around its body and hints of green here and there on its body as well.

In bold red letters it said Zombie, on the top, and Panda on the bottom. I opened it and made sure I had my Binder which had everything I needed for school, including my schedule. Then I grab the Blue cell phone, and dial Luxord's number. I check the clock and see that I still have thirty minutes, before we leave. Roxas had come about an hour after I had cleaned up my cuts and made sure to tell me that we would leave for school at exactly 7:40 to get there at 7:50.

The bell for homeroom rang at 8, so he would walk me. He hadn't waited for a response, just told me and then he added a goodnight before walking off. As I was thinking about that I heard a voice come on the phone, but it wasn't the one I wanted to hear. It was the voicemail machine. I waited for the beep and then left my message.

"I guess you're probably asleep still, so I'll just leave you a message. I just wanted to let you know that today is my first day of school. I get out at 3:15, so… You can probably call me around 4 or something… Well I got to go. Bye Luxord." I hung up feeling awkward and put the phone on silent and stick it underneath my jeans. Ms. Potts might clean my room today and I didn't need her to tell Cloud about it.

Oh! I run back into the bathroom and grab the First Aid kit and put it back in its spot at the bottom of the sink. I then grab the Gauze and Band aid trash and wrap it in some toilet paper, crunching it up in an attempt to make it look used and put it in the trash can next to my toilet. I look around the bathroom for any proof but I know it's clear. After all I did clean the razor last night and flushed all the paper I used to clean the floor and my arms.

After making sure everything is checked off my checklist, and grab the white cellphone which is supposedly mine I walk out of my bedroom and see Roxas Leaning against the wall of my hallway.

He's wearing his hair spikey as usual, and is wearing the same white button up shirt as me, the school shirt. He's wearing a grey long sleeve, which I sigh in relief since I won't be questioned, a pair of light Jeans, and his Grey High-Top sneakers. He's wearing his necklace, checkered wristbands, and his matching checkered backpack. The backpack is swung over one shoulder, his hand keeping it in place by one of the straps while the other is texting on his Black Phone.

He looks up at me and takes in my appearance smiling at me as he pushes himself off from the wall. "I thought you had forgotten to set your alarm. Nice boots." He puts his phone in his pocket and sticks that same hand in his pocket as well.

"I didn't." I say only and walk past him, freezing and tensing as he grabs my arm. The same arm I had cut.

"Sorry." He says noticing the way I tense and releases me.

"Look, I didn't know Zack was going to say those fucked up things. I didn't even know that's how they found her or how they did that. Me and Sora didn't know. I know your upset at Leon and Cloud, but I'm telling you one thing. Just because you feel betrayed by them, doesn't mean you should feel betrayed by us. We didn't know and I don't want you to sink back into your little shell. You can give our dad's the cold shoulder, or even Sora, but if you think you are going to do that to me, you have another thing coming. I will annoy the heck out of you until you pay attention to me got it?" He said looking at me.

I looked up and stared at his blue orbs which seemed like Blue flames and noticed something in his eyes, something that only I could now. It was something I couldn't express but I knew he had gone through an experience, or had felt the same, or at least something similar, to the betrayal I felt and he wasn't willing to let me ignore him. He felt as though I could somewhat understand him, and he wasn't willing to let me shrink back and avoid him.

I nodded and he nodded back, seeming proud of himself. And then the intense look faded replaced by one of his signature awkward smiles. "Can we go to the kitchen now? I'm kind of starving." I smile gently and nod as we make our way downstairs.

When we enter the Kitchen, Sora is sitting at the Island spinning around in the chair. He's wearing a white T-shirt underneath his School shirt, a pair of Khaki Cargo shorts, and White Sneakers. His necklace is hitting his chest at every spin and his Backpack, which is a Navy Blue, is lying abandoned on the floor of the Kitchen. Cloud, is sitting next to him, watching him with an amused expression on his face.

Cloud is dressed in a Dark blue long sleeve button up shirt, the top two button undone, a Black vest, a pair of Black Dress Pants, and a pair of shiny black dress shoes. I bite my tongue as I stand in the archway; Roxas gently pushes me forward and walks in front of me, sitting in the Chair beside Cloud. Leaving the chair next to him available. I sit down quietly and instantly feel Cloud's eyes on me.

I wonder what he is thinking, then I wonder what else he knows and suddenly my wrist begins to itch. I cross my arms and look at the top of the counter. My eyes are averted from there when Ms. Potts stands in front of me. She is extending a Granola bar and a bottle of water.

"You have to eat." She says gently and I can only barely lift the corner of my mouth in and attempt to smile. She nods and after I accept the food from her walks off to do who knows what. I stare at the Granola bar and wonder if I'll actually get to taste it. Or is it going to taste foreign once again.

Roxas grabs the Granola bar and opens it. Before placing it back in my grip. "Eat it." He says bluntly as he takes a bite of his bacon, from his breakfast. The simple sight of the bacon makes my stomach churn and I have to focus on the bar. I could just give it two bites and then throw it away. A guilty feeling creeps up into my stomach, but what about all those people who didn't have food? Not even a week ago I had been in their shoes, trying to find my next meal and know here I was throwing it away. I would eat as much as I could and then save the rest for Nutrition or Breakfast whatever they called it.

I take a bite of the bar, and slowly begin to chew it. It's actually chewy and has pieces of Chocolate scattered around. The taste is acceptable but it still feels foreign and when I swallow I can almost feel it go down and thump against my empty stomach. My stomach churning in protest, and beginning to hurt, I uncap my water and take a sip. The coldness goes down and seems to calm down my belly for a few seconds before it starts up again.

I take two more bites, continuing the process and after some time my stomach seems to give up and just accept the food. I stop eating at the middle of the bar and take a last sip of water before capping it. I feel proud of myself because I drank half the water and ate half the bar. This is an accomplishment especially since what happened yesterday.

I look over at Roxas who has finished his breakfast and is smiling at me, a genuine smile. Ms. Potts smiles at me as well and looks curiously at me as I wrap the granola bar. "I-I'm going to take it to school. So I can…. Finish it there." I answer quietly. Ms. Potts only nods and disappears before returning with a plastic bag, she takes the granola bar and puts it in the bag. She zips up the top and then hands it back to me.

I take it and put it inside my bag. I had just closed it when Leon walks into the kitchen. He's wearing a simple Black T-shirt, Leather Jacket, Dark Jeans, and Black Boots. Around his neck is his Police Badge, and around his waist is a belt with what looks like a Taser, Handcuffs, and…. A gun. My eyes stay trained on the gun a bit too long before I rip them away and look at my hands.

Leon walks towards the island and stands beside me, leaning against the island on his elbows. His very presence just sends a rush of betrayal and hurt through me and I focus even harder on my palms.

"I'm sorry." He says and the whole kitchen seems to freeze. The feeling of the room just dropping to a thick and awkward tension, I swallow and look at the clock in the corner of the kitchen. Roxas sees the way I glance and he clears his throat,

"We are going to be late." He says and stands up. I follow his lead but as I turn I see Leon in the corner of my eye try to reach out. I turn quickly and take a step back. Leon stares at me with hurt and I shake my head.

"You said there was no new information." I whisper and look at the floor.

"I know Claire but it was for your own good-" I glare at him and he stops.

"So know suddenly it's my own good to not know that my mother was a prostitute who wanted to give away my virginity in order to clear her drug debt. So it's for my own good not to know that my mom didn't give a damn about me and only cared about her drugs? Yeah, Leon of course you would now what's good for me after all you deal with the orphaned children of the victims you investigate, right? You have to fake that they can trust you in order to get the information you need. I was stupid enough to believe you, believe that you could ever care about me. And you know what? I should apologize, so, I'm sorry that I lost all trust in you. You and Cloud."

I say looking between him and Cloud. Cloud is hunched over the island not turning and Leon is looking away.

"And this is just proof of that, neither of you can look me in the eyes. The only reason you two accepted me was probably because you felt pity. Pity for the girl who lost her drug addicted mother and who would be nothing else than a bag of flesh that her Pimp would use to gain money."

I spat the last part and turn on my heel stalking out of the kitchen. I go to the front door and yank it open before walking out and going to the driveway. I could feel the urge to cry growing inside my chest but I bite my tongue to stop it. To the point where I almost feel like I am going to rip it off. I lean against the white garage door and stare at the grass.

Why didn't Leon just fucking tell me? Didn't I deserve to know? I actually thought I could trust him, I really did! I wanted to trust him, I actually felt like maybe just maybe he understood me. After all he had been the one to give me space on the first day. Why couldn't he just continue on that path, why did he have to hide that?!

After fuming for a couple of more minutes, I finally calm down enough that I have stopped biting my tongue. And don't have the urge to punch something or cut myself again. Roxas walks out of the house first, seeming just as pissed, and then Sora who seems sad and torn between something. Cloud is the last to walk out and he has a sad but pensive look on his face as he spins the car keys around his finger.

"Sora you get shotgun." Roxas says coldly as he swings open the back door of the Mustang and gets in. I get in after him and stare at my boots, while he texts on his phone. When he finishes he puts the phone on his lap and suddenly my phone vibrates in the pocket of my jeans. I take it out and see that I have a new text, which is from him.

I open it and my eyes quickly scroll through the text:

**Leon is like that, he thinks he knows what's good for everyone. Doesn't excuse what he did, but just think about it. No matter what, you know I'm on your side. I'm your loyal follower :P**

I can't stop the smile that graces my lips and look over at him. He is smiling awkwardly at me and I playfully punch his arm. "Ouch." He whispers clutching his arm almost as if he was in pain and I roll my eyes. I grow silent once Cloud and Sora climb into the car and so does Roxas. We begin the long… and awkward drive to school. When we are a couple of blocks away my phone vibrates again and I look over at Roxas but remember that he put his phone in his backpack. I open the text and suddenly all of the tension and anger disappears from my body.

**Got your message. You know you sound pretty awkward. Dweeb. Have a good day, don't get caught texting. I'll call you at 4, Good luck. – Luxord**

I smile and stick the phone into my Backpack. I feel someone staring so I turn and see Roxas eyeing me strangely. "You are bipolar, my friend." He mumbles. When we arrive at the school that's when the nerves finally set in. There are dozens and dozens of students all wearing the same shirt walking around. Some are laughing and others are talking, some of the girls are wearing skirts while others are wearing shorts. They all look meant to be there and then here I am looking like a sore thumb.

I bite my nail as Cloud pulls up to the front of the building. He pulls out his wallet and hands Sora a five dollar bill, then Roxas, and then he pulls out another and extends it to me. I stare at it and then shake my head. "I don't need it."

"Claire-"

"Dad she rarely eats, I highly doubt she is going to want to eat. And if she does I'll share with her." Sora cuts in, as he turns to see me, and I know that he is on my side. Cloud stares at Sora and nods, putting the bill away and looks ahead. Sora and Roxas climb out, tossing goodbyes over their shoulders. But as I am about to open mine, Cloud stops me.

"Claire, I know you're mad and hurt and betrayed. But you need to understand that we thought it was for the best. You were so happy and with this new piece of information we knew that you would just take a step back." He said looking over at me. I could see the honesty in his eyes, and I knew that some part of me knew he was right but I was just to hurt right now.

"I know but, you need to realize that this involved me, this is about my… this is about Larxene. You had no right to keep it a secret from me. Sure it would have hurt, but I'm pretty sure it would have hurt less, than how much it hurts know. Because I'm not only hurt by the fact that she wanted to do that but, I'm also hurt at the fact that you don't trust me enough to tell me things. And it hurts that I can't trust you or Leon."

I open the door and climb out, pulling the strap of my bag higher onto my shoulder. I walk over to Roxas and Sora who are smiling gently at me. "You ready for the tour of Kingdom Heart High?" They say in Unison making themselves laugh. I smile and nod, and make my way over to them as we walk through the door of the Castle Like school.

Kingdom Hearts High School wasn't really that huge, well once you knew where everything was. The Math, Language, and elective classes were on the second floor while English, Science, and any other classes were downstairs. Roxas's homeroom teacher was a teacher by the name of Mr. Demyx. Something they had also told me was almost all the teacher used their first name instead of their last name.

Probably because all of their last names were Japanese or a different language and were quite difficult to pronounce. Sora's teacher was a teacher by the name of Ms. Benzo, who taught German, both of their homeroom classes were upstairs. They walked me to Mr. Terra's room and I felt the nervousness start crawling up my stomach.

"You'll be fine alright? Sora will see you next period in Spanish." Roxas said comforting me, as he looked over my schedule once more which I had pulled out before we had walked into the school. I nodded before hugging them both and walked into class. Mr. Terra's room was adorned with posters of politics and presidents, was he a History teacher? Maybe Government and Economics? He also had a few art pictures and random designs scattered around making it even more difficult to know for sure what he taught.

"You must be new." Said a deep voice making me turn around. The man who stood in front of me was quite attractive. He was tall and rather muscular, with broad shoulders and a very masculine vibe to him. He had medium length brown hair that stopped right before his hair met his shoulder. He had fierce blue eyes and sharp chiseled features. His skin was a light shade of olive and he wore a white, Blue, and Black Flannel shirt with a white undershirt, a pair of jeans, and some Black converse. His black sunglasses hanging on the collar of his shirt.

He raised an eyebrow and I remembered he had asked me a question. "Uh… Yeah, I'm new, this is my first day." He nods and extends his hand, waiting for me to give him my schedule. I hand it over and he looks it over, smiling. Now this man's smile could have lit up the whole world if it had to, and I was so glad I had him as a teacher. I got to start my day and end it with him since we had homeroom two times.

He hands it back to me and cocks his head to the side, "Your quite the smart kid. What's your name?"

"Claire Strife." His eyebrows rise.

"Your related to Roxas and Sora?" I nod, "I'm their cousin, and Cloud is my uncle."

"Huh, never thought Cloud had a sibling, never talked about one… Well I'll be your homeroom Teacher. I'm Mr. Kobayashi, but the students call me Mr. Terra, Terra, or Mr. T." He extends his hand and I shake it, handing me also my schedule.

"You can sit wherever you like, Claire." He says and I nod before turning and making my way over to one of the desks in the back and sitting down. Students begin to file into the classroom and they all look at me, looking me up and down before beginning to mumble to each other. I can't really catch what they are saying so I decide to ignore them, looking out the window.

Suddenly I feel someone tap my shoulder and turn, a girl is standing there. She is rather short, shorter than Sora that's for sure and has long brown hair. Her eyes are an intense shade of brown and her skin is a bit on the tan side. She is wearing the white shirt with a light blue shirt underneath and matching jeans. On her feet is a pair of white flats, and in her arms is a drawing notepad. I then see a black pencil peeking out behind her ear and her backpack is white but on the side, you can already see some designs which seemed to have been colored in with Sharpie. She was an artsy gal that was pretty obvious. "Hey, I haven't seen you here before. There is only one other girl with Pink hair and she's a freshmen. I'm Zuri, Zuri Lavendarc." She stuck out her hand and I noticed that just like Sora, she had a red bump on her finger and a bit of coloring on the pad of her thumb. I shook her hand, not sure why, and said, "Claire Strife."

"Strife? Your related to Roxas and Sora?" Did everyone know who they were?

"Yeah, I'm their cousin." "Wow that is so awesome. Everyone here knows them because of who their dads are and also because Sora is one of the greatest Artists ever to step foot in Kingdom hearts high and Roxas is our school's best Cross Country runner. So… What's your talent?" She asks as she sits in the desk next to mine.

I shrug, "I don't really have talents." I say playing with the hem of my shirt. "Aw Come on! Everyone has talents. Some people can write, others can play music, some are great at sports, or some people can burp the alphabet everyone has a talent." I smile and look at her, "Burp the Alphabet?"

"What? That's a talent! Like Mr. Terra's talent is to be so damn cute." She whispers as she fan girls in her seat.

"Fan Girling again are we, Zuri?" Says a girl as she walks up to us. This girl looks completely fierce and strong.

She wears her school shirt unbuttoned and shows the black Tank top underneath, a pair of Tight white jeans, and some black chucks. Her Long brown hair is straight and lies on her back while her Light brown eyes look at her friend, her arms crossed over her chest. Her features are very soft and feminine but her stance and the ways her eyes look at you make you think twice before you would even think about messing with her.

"Oh shut up Tifa, he's just so perfect." Zuri swoons staring at him. "I'm going to tell Seifer, and Hey I'm Tifa." She waves revealing a pair of fingerless gloves on her hands which suddenly remind me of Luxord, since he has a pair also.

I wave back, "Claire." She nods and takes a seat in the desk in front of me. Leaning back against the wall and looking around the class. "Well it seems that your quite an attention grabber aren't you?" She says casually as she looks over at me and I shrug.

"It's cause she's Sora and Roxas's cousin." Tifa nods, seeming to understand know from that one sentence. But before I can ask or say anything the bell rings and Mr. Terra begins speaking. He tells us about the schedule change which had been mentioned last year about having two homeroom classes. He then proceeds to explain his expectations of us and that he does not want to hear one complaint about his students.

When he says that he looks pointedly at a boy with Dyed Green hair who simply shrinks into his chair while the rest of the class laughs. He then decides to go around the class and introduce ourselves which some people groan at and complain before they realize that this would be a good moment to get some dirt on the new girl.

Everyone goes and then it's my turn. I sigh and stand up crossing my arms over my chest. "My names Claire Strife, I'm a… Sixteen years old and a… Like Football… I guess." I say not really sure what else to say. I sit down and Mr. Terra nods,

"Have you ever played football in school or do you just like it?" "Uh… I just like it I suppose." I say shrugging and he nods and is about to start talking when a girl with Curled hair suddenly shouts.

"Is it true your related to Roxas and Sora?" I just nod and look down at my palms. That seems to quench the gossip need of the girls because they say nothing else as Homeroom continues. Terra hands us some Agenda's which are given to us from the school and then the bell rings.

Tifa and I both have AP Spanish next so we walk over. When we walk in Sora comes bouncing over to me, pulling along a guy with Silver long hair and piercing aqua greenish eyes. He is much taller than me and he looks very serious.

"Claire this is my Best friend Riku! Riku this is Claire my cousin!" Riku looks up and nods, "Hey."

"Hey." I respond back but can see the way Tifa looks at Riku surprised. "You have got to be shitting me! You just meet her and instantly tell her Hey but I've known you for three years and you haven't even spoken one word to me!" Riku stares at her and raises an eyebrow while Sora just laughs and I smirk.

"Screw you Riku." She growls pushing me towards a couple of desk in the middle of the room. Sora and Riku sit behind us and the rest of the class begins to file in next to us. I end up meeting Kairi, the girl who was talking to them outside that one time, and her best friend Namine.

An almost clone of her except with Blonde hair and Blue eyes. They are both very nice but I notice that Kairi kind of has a thing for Sora because whenever she's close to him she walks with her butt sticking out. I find it kind of funny because Sora is so naïve that he doesn't notice. But when Riku catches my eye he shakes his head and rolls his eyes. I pat his hand which is on the desk and he smiles at me which sends Tifa into one of her rampages since she can rarely get any reaction out of him.

Know Mr. Demyx is quite the… Unique teacher. He is very young, only being 24 and has blonde hair that is cut in a Mullet kind of due that fits him… strangely enough. He has boyish facial features and Ocean blue eyes.

His personality is so random and Bubbly that you don't know what to expect. He reminds me of an Older Sora and it is no surprise Sora's his favorite student. After all he let us know five minutes into the class. He then began to play his guitar as he sang us a song on his expectations, all in Spanish which he spoke rather fluently.

After the song was done he handed out a book to each and every one of us which would be the book he expected us to read. A chapter a day and then we would return to class the next day and talk about it and to make sure we would he would give us a quiz that would affect our grade. I looked at the cover and knew it was an English book that had been translated to English. The book in English was called, Before I Die and was written by Jenny Downham.

The story was about a girl who is diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and is in her final stages so she decides with the help of her friend to complete all the things on her outrageous bucket list. I had read a couple of pages from the book a year or two ago and had liked it but never got around to reading it.

"It seems interesting," said Tifa, sticking the book inside of her black bag. I nodded and followed suit just as the bell rang and Sora groaned. Mr. Demyx seems to feel the disturbance and hurries over to his favorite pupil.

"Sora what's wrong!" He cries almost dramatically and I have to fight the urge to smile. "I have Pre-Calculus next, Mr. Demyx." He cries and Demyx hugs Sora, patting his hair.

"It's okay Sora, you will survive I swear to you. You will survive!" Riku stairs between them and shakes his head. "I'll see ya around Sora." He says and begins to walk off, Sora seeming to snap out of it and escape Demyx's hug as he hugs Riku.

"I'll see you at Breakfast Riku!" He says before grabbing my wrist, thankfully not the one I cut and drags me to our next class. From what Sora had told me, he wasn't exactly a math wizard and he had flunked Pre-Calculus last year so he had to retake it. But instead of taking responsibility he blamed the teacher, a teacher that almost every student despised.

When we walked in I could see why many would hate him. Mr. Xemnas had a very strong and authoritive vibe about him and his looks helped with that. He had silver hair that was so sleek and shiny that it seemed to almost glow. His skin was a dark tan and he was perfectly sculpted, almost seemed to have been carved from stone. But what drew me in were his eyes, his eyes that were a bright gold.

When the bell rang he stood in front of the class and looked each of us over. He must have been used to all the students because he stopped in front of me and raised a brow.

"You. What's your name and what grade are you?" He said and I didn't have a minute to think because his voice demanded my response. "Claire Strife, Junior." I said and he raised a brow before looking over at Sora.

"I hope that you are like Roxas and not like him." Sora glares at the man and Xemnas begins to assign us to our seats. Xemnas seats me in the front corner, near his desk next to a boy named Hayner.

Hayner wears a pair of Camo Cargo shorts and Blonde Spiked up hair. His eyes are a light brown and he has a very kind smile but when you get him pissed he turns deadly. I witnessed that when one of the guys behind him named Wakka tried to annoy him. He turned and socked him in the arm before turning Xemnas missing Hayner's punch but catching Wakka just as he was about to swing.

Mr. Xemnas was actually a very good teacher; he would explain everything crystal clear and if you didn't get it he would… sometimes go over it. A lot of the students had to stop their groans as he handed out a worksheet with fifty problems but they were just very simple Algebra 1 and 2 questions.

When the bell rang it was Breakfast and I walked out with Sora. Riku was already waiting outside and we walked to the cafeteria together. After they got their food I split with them and walked over to sit with Tifa and Zuri. I finished the last of my granola bar and threw away my trash just as the bell rang. Zuri and I had English together and we made our way over.

When we entered the room I spotted Roxas leaning against a desk smiling at a guy who had bright emerald green eyes, Dark red spikey hair, and pale skin. He was much taller than Roxas and was talking to him, using his hands to demonstrate something about a car. He seemed very animated as he also made faces making Roxas laugh even more. He turned to the door and waved at me, the guy pouting and turning to see who had robbed his friend's attention before stopping on me.

"Hey Zuri, Claire this is Axel. Axel this is Claire." I looked at Axel who smiled, "Roxas you lied to me." He said smiling at me and I furrowed my brows as did Roxas.

"What?"

"You said she was pretty, you never told me she was Hot." He said giving me a wolf like smile. I smirked rolling my eyes and noticed the way Roxas stared incredulously at him.

"Honey if you need anything, anything at all just ask me. Your pal Axel Villa, Got it memorized?" I nodded and then Zuri pulled me along to sit in the front seat at the corner. I was about to ask why we were sitting in the front when Mr. Zexion walked in. Mr. Zexion was incredibly good looking and mysterious all combined in a package.

He had Black hair that as it went to the tips began to turn a dark blue. His eyes matched the dark blue and seemed that near the pupil got lighter. The way he held himself just let you know he wasn't someone to mess with. He was just… just so… "Captivating." Whispered Zuri who I quickly agreed with.

Mr. Zexion didn't speak as much but when he did you had to listen. He assigned us a book as well telling us that he expected us, just like Demyx to read a chapter a day. The book he gave us was called the Crucible by Arthur miller. Which I hadn't read before but from what Zuri told me was about a man who committed adultery and was fighting the guilt of it. Especially because she was some kind of witch or something. It was a play and I wasn't too fond of plays but I could survive.

The bell rang and Roxas as well as Axel both had AP Chemistry with me. We walked into the class and the teacher was Mr. Saix. Mr. Saix seemed to have the same vibe as Mr. Xemnas. He had piercing blue hair that stopped right on his shoulders and bright silver eyes. He had two scars that ran across his face in a form of an X and had pale skin. He got to work instantly, assigning us partners. Axel and Roxas were paired together, which I was pretty sure was because Axel sucked at Chemistry. I was assigned to be partners with a girl named Yuffie. Yuffie was a short and thin girl with a very hyper personality. She had short black hair with a Silver hairband around her head. She wore the white shirt but the sleeves were folded to the top. She wore a pair of Black shorts and some black knee high boots. It fit her and we instantly got along.

Lunch came around and I sat with Zuri and Tifa again who had been joined by their friend Xion, a freshman. Xion was short and had short Black hair. Her eyes were big and blue with very delicate features and a very quiet personality. She was very nice and even complimented me about my hair, saying that I looked a lot like Serah a friend of hers.

The bell rang and Tifa, Zuri, and I made our way to AP History. Ms. Aqua was very pretty. Her hair was a light blue that matched her eyes. She was very… angelic looking. I spotted Riku and decided to sit next to him which caught him off guard because he was sitting in the corner away from the front. But he smiled and even though in the beginning he tried to ignore me, he started to talk to me.

After that Class it was PE which was the final class of the day. From what I had been told PE was usually given to sports players and cheerleaders but somehow Zuri and My name had been drafted as well and we know had PE. Since it was the first day our teacher, Coach Cid, who was tall and built like a tank, let us not change and told us to go stand by the bleachers.

Zuri and I put up no protest and walked over she sat on the ground with her drawing pad open and I leaned against the wall. I could just make out Roxas who was hanging around the group of guys. He seemed to be saying something that was making Riku, Axel, and some guy who was tall and had Platinum blonde hair look towards where Zuri and I were standing.

"Hey Zuri?"

"Yeah?" She said looking up from her drawing of the sky. "Tifa said Seifer would get mad. Who's that?"

Zuri blushes and then looks over the field before pointing at one of the guys. He was wearing a black beanie with blonde hair poking out at the end. He had on baggy pants with black boots and was talking with Hayner and Wakka. He caught her pointing and nodded over to her, which she responded with a shy wave.

"He's my boyfriend. We're in the same grade; we got together in sophomore year. So we've been together about a year."

"Oh. So-"

"Claire! Watch out!" Screamed Zuri as she covered her head with her hands. I looked up just in time to see a football flying towards me. I quickly extended my hands up and caught the ball, holding it tightly between my hands. I looked over at Roxas who was smiling at me and waved, signaling for me to throw it over. I adjusted the football and after putting my fingers on the right spot throw it over to them. Smiling proudly as the ball swirled perfectly to them. It landed in the Platinum Blondes hands and he looked over at me.

"Yo, Strife! Come here." I raised a brow but asked Zuri if she could hold my bag which she agreed. I walked over and noticed That Coach Cid was even over there looking surprised as he looked at the guy.

When I finally got over there Roxas had his arms crossed over his chest as he watched the Coach and the guy look at me. I nodded my head at him, asking what's up and he motioned his head to the guy who I noticed had Light green eyes. "Roxas here was telling us that you liked football and I must admit your Throw and catch are pretty good…. For a girl." The guy finished and I instantly knew who he was. This was the Captain of the team, Snow Villiers.

"Uh Huh, and?" I said trying to get him to get to the point. "Well, I thought why not let you get a shot after all we just got an empty slot for a wide receiver which I bet you'd be pretty good at since you're a great catcher." What the hell was a Wide receiver?

"Starting today, you're going through what we like to call training boot camp. We'll train you, but you still have to try out like the rest of the guys. You up for it, Girly?" I looked at Riku, Axel, and Roxas who were smiling and I sighed but could feel the joy pumping in my chest.

"I'm up for it."

_**(Oh! You go Lightning this girl be playing with the big boys Now! Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter it is pretty long and I will continue the rest in the next chapter I just didn't want to make it a Humongous chapter. So Review and do your thing!)**_


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